In Strength and In Weakness
by HollyJandHuddyfan
Summary: Sequel to "Secrets in the Dark". Two main plot lines. Someone from Rachel's past comes back and she goes back to her old ways. Can someone stop her before it's too late? Also, House and Cuddy explore different aspects of their relationship as it begins to grow.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the sequel to "Secrets in the Dark". I highly recommend reading that before reading this one. Also, I will slowly build up to some Huddy action over the next several chapters. So be patient! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel Cuddy was getting ready for her first day of high school at Plainsboro Academy. She had already been going there for a year and a half now, so she didn't have to worry about getting lost or making friends. Still, Rachel was worried with her ability in handling the curriculum. This was the first time in her life that she was taking Advanced Placement classes. The second Cuddy heard that Rachel qualified to take AP Spanish and AP World History, she continuously nagged Rachel by saying how much having AP classes on her transcript would strengthen college applications. Finally, Rachel relented and signed up for them for the sole purpose of shutting her mom up. Cuddy meant well, but she had it ingrained in her head that Rachel was going to go to an Ivy League school in order to get into a highly respectable profession, such as a doctor or a lawyer. Rachel sighed as she put on her school uniform which consisted of a short-sleeved navy blue button down blouse and kaki colored pants. She grabbed a pair of black flats, slipped them on and brushed her hair into a side ponytail. Then she went in front of the mirror and began applying her make-up: emerald green eye shadow, black eyeliner, black mascara and ruby red lipstick. Once Rachel was satisfied with her appearance, she walked into the kitchen.

"I don't think so!" Rachel heard Cuddy say immediately upon entering. She looked over and saw her mom sitting down at the table with a cup of coffee in hand. "You are not going to school looking like THAT!"

"Looking like what?" Rachel moaned.

"Like you just walked out of a horror movie!" Cuddy shot back. "Either you go and put on your make-up in a sensible manner or I'm not going to allow you to wear any."

"What's wrong with my make-up?"

"For one thing, you caked on so much green eye shadow and red lipstick that you look like the bride of Frankenstein. For another, I don't like all that heavy black eyeliner all around your eye. Go wash it off and try again!"

"Seriously?" Rachel looked over at Cuddy who was now glaring at her. "Fine!" She left the kitchen and came back 5 minutes later wearing only mascara and a touch of her red lipstick. "Happy now?" Cuddy looked up.

"As a matter a fact, yes!" she said. "And don't you dare use that tone of voice with me again. Do you understand?" Rachel nodded. "Good! Well, I'm off to work now. I should be back by dinner time providing that everything goes well. If not, there's some pasta in the freezer that you can heat up."

"Okay," Rachel responded. "Where's House?"

"Still sleeping. He doesn't have to be at work until 11am today." Cuddy sighed. "Lucky bastard" she muttered under her breath. Cuddy then smiled and walked over to Rachel. "Good luck today! I'm sure you'll do just great, though." She gave Rachel a quick kiss goodbye. "Bye, honey! Have a great day!" Cuddy called out as she hastily ran out the front door. Rachel sat down at the table and saw her bottle of Abilify sitting there in front of her; it seemed as if it was looking up and taunting her. Rachel knew the drill; she was supposed to take two tablets with breakfast every morning. Little did Cuddy know that, in reality, she wasn't actually taking them anymore. Instead, Rachel would take two pills out of the bottle every day and flush them down the toilet. Rachel felt the medication dulled her manic episodes down too much and she needed to experience those highs in order to have the energy and focus required to meet all of the high demands that Cuddy had been placing on her lately. If Rachel wanted to please her mom, she had no choice but to stop taking her medication and put up with the crappy symptoms of her Bipolar Disorder.

**SCENE 2:**

House's phone went off at 8:30 am, waking him up from a very comfortable slumber. He groaned as he sat up and rubbed his fatigued eyes. House glanced over at the bed next to him and saw that Cuddy was already up and, in fact, had probably left for the day. House let out a grunt, realizing that the shrilling ringtone of his cellphone wasn't going to go away until he answered it. Begrudgingly, he picked it up. "This had better be good!"

"Good morning to you too, House!" Cameron sarcastically said on the other end.

"What do you want?"

"I need you to come in to the ER. I have a new patient presenting with some very puzzling symptoms."

"Which are?"

"I need you to physically come in to evaluate the patient" she explained. "You need to see them for yourself."

"Forman said I don't have to be in until 11 which means I still have about another hour and a half of sleep left. So thank you and goodbye."

"House, I…" Cameron started to say when House hung up. House had just about fallen back asleep when his cellphone rang again.

"For fucks sake!" he shouted as he angrily grabbed the thing and picked it up. "What now?"

"House, get your butt down here now and help Cameron out" Forman adamantly stated.

"But I don't work in the ER. Plus I'm not due to be in until 11" he argued.

"Plans changed! You're working the ER until this case is solved and I expect you here no later than 9:15. Got it?" House sighed.

"Fine! But I want a week off from clinic duty!"

"Just get down here ASAP!" Forman practically shouted before hanging up. House sighed. This was going to be a long day.

**SCENE 3:**

Rachel had just sat down in her first period English class and was getting her notebook out of her backpack when she heard a familiar voice. "So, we meet again." Rachel looked up. No. It couldn't be. This must be some sort of nightmare. There was no way that Annabell could be standing right there before her. Rachel gulped.

"Hi," was the only thing that managed to escape her lips.

"Hi! That's it? That's all you've got to say to me you little bitch?"

"What…what are you doing here?" Rachel nervously asked. Annabell sat down at the desk next to her.

"That's better. Anyway, my mom said that Plainsboro Academy has a better curriculum than Princeton Senior High. So she decided to cough up the five grand a year and send me here. Why, does that bother you?" Annabell sneered.

"No," Rachel lied, trying to keep her cool, but failing miserably.

"Good," Annabell said in a snarky tone. She noticed Rachel's schedule lying on her desk and quickly snatched it away

"Hey!" Rachel protested. "That's mine! Give it back!"

"If it's in public view, than it's meant for the public to see" Annabell shot back. "Hmm…let's see. Looks like we have also Spanish together. Muy bueno!" Rachel felt sick to her stomach. Here she thought all her problems were over, that she had finally moved on from her past, but her past was right here staring her straight in the face.

**SCENE 4:**

House had just arrived at the hospital when Cameron ran over to greet him in the lobby. "House! I'm so glad you're here" she said as she struggled to catch her breath. "Here's the file. Quick synopsis is that the patient is a 12 year old female who had a seizure with foaming at the mouth right before her mom called 911" Cameron explained as they both headed towards the ER. "Her heart rate is over 200, yet her blood pressure is only 85/42 and she has a fever of 104.2." House glanced down at the file.

"Pupils reactive?"

"Yep," Cameron responded.

"Has she had anymore seizures since she's been admitted?"

"Nope, but that's only because I have her on a high dose of anti-seizure medication" Cameron explained. "I can't keep her on this indefinitely. Just did it until we could figure out what's wrong with her."

"Chart says she went to the doctor a few days ago with complaints of a bad cough, dizziness and nausea" House pointed out. "Has she been tested for the Swine flu?"

"No, but she's young. So her body should be able to fight it off."

"That would be true except for the fact that she already has Asthma as an underlying condition, which you would have realized HAD YOU READ THE CHART! Confirm for Swine flu and then start her on anti-virals." House ordered. "Think you can handle that?" Cameron simply ignored that comment.

"I'll page you once I get the results" she said. House nodded as he started to head out.

"Where are you going?" Cameron demanded.

"Home. Did my good deed for the day."

"You were here for less than 20 minutes!"

"Forman said my only duty of the day was to help you treat your patient, which I did!" House shot back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

"We haven't even confirmed that it's Swine Flu yet. Shouldn't you at least stay until the results come back?"

"I could, but I won't!" House turned around and left Cameron standing there in total disbelief.

**SCENE 5:**

Rachel was sitting on her bed, trying to focus on her Algebra 1 homework, but her mind kept drifting back to Annabell. _What if she tried to hurt her again?_ Rachel fought to hold back tears as she contemplated doing something that she hadn't done in a long time. Rachel took a deep breath and stared down at her arm. There were several old scars there, which she liked to refer to as badges of courage. Her stomach knotted up as she slowly got up and walked into the kitchen. Rachel was about to open the draw and grab a knife when someone else walked in.

"Need something?" Rachel jumped as she looked up. She sighed a breath of relief when she saw that it was just Cuddy. "What are you doing with the knife?" she asked, noticing the knife that Rachel was holding.

"Oh, um…nothing" Rachel lied as she quickly put it back in the drawer and shut it. Suddenly a look of terror washed over Cuddy's face.

"Oh my God, you were going to…sit down, Rachel. We need to talk."

"But I'm fine," Rachel said as she started to walk away.

"This isn't optional!" Cuddy said raising her voice. She grabbed Rachel by the arm and lightly pushed her down into a chair. Cuddy sat down in the chair next to her. "You were going to cut yourself, weren't you?" Rachel shook her head. "Rachel, don't lie to me. If you were just planning on cooking with that knife, you wouldn't have tried to hide it so quickly." She stared Rachel straight in the eye, causing Rachel to feel nervous and look away. "Rachel! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" So Rachel did. "You were doing so well. What happened?"

"It's nothing," Rachel lied. "Can I go now?"

"Not until you tell me why you were about to cut yourself."

"I wasn't going to cut myself!" Rachel protested.

"Then what were you planning on doing with that knife? Take up wildling?" she added sarcastically.

"No. I wasn't going to do anything with it." Rachel bent her head forward and bit her lip. Cuddy saw that this approach wasn't working and decided to take the nicer approach.

"Look, I'm sorry for lashing out at you. I just had a rough day at work, ok? Not that it's any excuse because it isn't." Cuddy placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Rachel, sweetie, I know there's something bothering you and I want to help you. But I can't do that unless you tell me what it is."

"There's nothing you can do to fix this" Rachel muttered.

"Try me!" Cuddy said in a confident tone. Rachel closed her eyes.

"It's…well…Annabell goes to Plainsboro Academy now. She's in two of my classes." She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Cuddy who wore an expression of shock on her face.

"What?" Cuddy exclaimed. "How the hell did she even know you were going there? I didn't say anything to anyone. Did you?" Rachel shook her head.

"See, I told you there's nothing you can do. I'm officially screwed."

"Don't say that. Did she say or do anything to you?" Cuddy asked.

"Other than shoot a couple of snarky comments my way, no" Rachel said. "But I'm still really scared."

"Which classes of yours is she in?"

"English and AP Spanish" Rachel responded.

"How about this? I'll call the school first thing tomorrow. See if I can get you into a different timeslot for both of those subjects" Cuddy suggested.

"Won't that seem kind of suspicious?" Rachel asked. "I just don't want to provoke her and make things worse." Cuddy thought for a moment. Rachel did have a valid point.

"Rachel, I know you really wanted to take AP Spanish but what if you dropped the AP class and took regular Spanish instead. That way, if anyone were to ask, you can just say you didn't feel up to par with the curriculum, even though we both know you can handle it just fine." It took all of Rachel's self-control not to laugh out loud. Where did her mom get the idea that she wanted to take all these AP classes anyway? She was perfectly happy just taking regular classes, especially since she needed to maintain a higher gpa for the honors program and they didn't care what level of classes she took.

"Ok, that sounds good" Rachel responded. Cuddy smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

"Also, if she touches you or threatens you in anyway, go to the office immediately and have them call me. Understood?" Rachel nodded. "Rachel, I am so sorry. I honestly thought you'd be safe there. That you wouldn't have to worry about any of those girls anymore."

"It's ok. You did what you thought was right, mom. Thank you." Cuddy smiled. It truly meant a lot to hear her daughter say that. She was about to respond when House walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, all"

"Morning?" Rachel questioned. "Maybe in China. Did you just get out of bed?" House nodded. "What about work?"

"Solved a Swine Flu case in 20 minutes and, much to Forman's disliking, I took the rest of the day off." He walked over to Cuddy. "So what's for dinner?"

"Make it yourself you lazy bum" she said getting up. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close to him. Their lips locked as Cuddy rapped her arms around House's waist.

"Ok, I'm leaving before I officially go blind" Rachel said as she shielded her eyes with her hand and ran out. They both broke apart and laughed.

"Kids these days, huh?" House said. Cuddy just shook her head.

"Get cooking" Cuddy said before she too left the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

SCENE 1:

It was early morning and golden rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks of the blinds. Cuddy stirred as she opened her eyes and glanced at the clock on her night table. Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest when she saw what time it was; 8:30, it was 8:30! She was supposed to be at work by now. Cuddy threw the covers off of her and jumped out of bed.

"Hey, what's the rush Cuddles?" House grumbled, still half-asleep.

"House! I'm late for work!"

"Jesus, Cuddy. It's Saturday" he mumbled. "Come back to bed!" It took a minute for it to register that he was right. She was off from work today. Cuddy giggled.

"Silly me. I don't know where my head is today!" She climbed back into bed and snuggled into House's warm embrace.

"It's still in my pants from last night" House joked. Cuddy pulled away and playfully slapped him.

"Can't you ever take anything seriously?" she asked him.

"Can't you ever NOT take anything seriously?" he shot back.

"How about this? Why don't we both work on finding a happy medium?"

"Great idea! Why don't we start working on that after I get some more sleep?" And with that House turned over and was out like a light. Cuddy smiled to herself as she watched him sleep peacefully. Her adrenaline was already pumping, so there was no way she was going back to sleep. So, slowly and quietly Cuddy got up, walked into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee. A few minutes later she heard footsteps and saw Rachel come into the kitchen.

"Morning," Rachel greeted.

"Morning," Cuddy responded. Rachel grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water. "You don't drink juice anymore?" Cuddy noted.

"No. It's just easier to take my pills with water" Rachel lied. Cuddy seemed to buy it. Rachel grabbed her pill bottle, the glass of water and walked out of the kitchen. She made sure her mom wasn't around before she went into the bathroom, locked the door behind her and flushed the pills down the toilet. Then she walked back into the kitchen, placed the pill bottle down and polished off her water.

"Take your pills?" Cuddy asked. Rachel nodded. "Good." Rachel smiled to herself. She was stronger than a stupid little pill and, when the time was right, she would reveal the truth and prove to everyone that she didn't need her medication anymore.

SCENE 2:

"Has Rachel been taking her meds?" House asked Cuddy later that day

"Of course she has" Cuddy responded assertively as she sat down next to him. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"Have you actually seen her take the pills?"

"Don't doge my question with another question."

"Fine! Take all the fun out of it" House moaned. "I found two little blue pills in the toilet this morning. I guess she forgot to flush them down this time." Cuddy's eye's widened and her whole body tensed up.

"That's it! I'm going to kill her!" she sneered as she got up and started to head towards Rachel's room.

"Cuddy, wait!" House called out. She spun around.

"What?" she angrily spat at him.

"You know she's going to deny everything and hours of you two arguing isn't going to get you anywhere, not to mention I don't feel like listening to it. So, how about this? Tomorrow morning ask her to take the meds in front of you. Oh, yeah, and don't forget to check underneath the tongue. That's where I always hid my pills when I was in rehab." Cuddy shot him a look. "Kidding!"

"You better be" she sneered. "Rachel needs to be on that medication. She can't just stop taking it cold turkey. Oh God! What if she tries to hurt herself again? I have to keep an eye on her and…"

"Cuddy, calm down!" House interjected. "She'll be fine until tomorrow morning. "Plus, you're off and I'm ditching work, so she's not alone where she'll try and do anything stupid."

"You mean to tell me that you have work today?" Cuddy shouted at him.

"I didn't mean to tell you anything but, now that you mention it, I do faintly recall Forman saying that I can come in whenever I want. Now if only I could remember whether he actually said that or if that was the dream I had last Wednesday night."

"Get your lazy ass into work!" Cuddy ordered. "The only reason we're able to afford to both live in this house and send Rachel to private school is because of our combined incomes. You know that you idiot!"

"You mean the one where that bully of a girl followed her too?" Cuddy cringed. "That's what I thought. Face it, Cuddy. You can't always be there to protect your daughter. Sometimes she's going to get hurt and there's nothing you can do about it." He got up and left, leaving Cuddy in tears.

SCENE 3:

It was the following morning and Rachel was sitting in the kitchen eating a whole grain bagel with nothing on it and a glass of water. A couple of minutes later Cuddy walked into the kitchen, grabbed Rachel's pill bottle, spilled the contents and counted out the pills. "Good, you haven't taken this morning's dose yet. I want to watch you take it."

"Why?" Rachel moaned. "Don't you trust me?"

"Frankly, no." Cuddy responded. "And if you have nothing to hide, you should have no problem taking them in front of me." She sat down across from Rachel and placed the pill bottle on the table. "Whenever you're ready." Rachel glared at her.

"This sucks!" she shouted. "You suck!" Rachel shouted as she got up and stormed out of the kitchen. She ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her…Rachel was growing lightheaded and queasy as her whole body started to shake. She broke out into a cold sweat. This had been happening a lot lately, but it had never been this bad. Still, Rachel wasn't too worried because she figured it was simply a side-effect from stopping the medication so suddenly. Rachel's vision became blurry and her whole body tingled like crazy before it suddenly grew numb. Rachel wrapped her arms around herself as she closed her eyes and began to hyperventilate. Thank god she had locked the door. Or had she? Rachel wanted to get up and check, but she was too weak to move. Her head was now beginning to throb in tandem with the rest of her aching body. She literately felt like she was dying. Still, it was worth all the suffering if it meant proving that she didn't need the meds. She was stronger than the meds. She was stronger.

"Rachel," Cuddy called out as she knocked on the door. "Rachel, open up!" The doorknob began to turn.

_Please have it be locked_ Rachel prayed. Shit! It wasn't locked.

"Rachel!" Cuddy called out once more. "Oh my God! What's going on?" She felt Rachel's forehead. Rachel felt a bit clammy, but thankfully had no fever. "Come on! Let's get you up and into bed" Cuddy said as she helped Rachel up. Rachel turned and looked at her. "Hold on! Let me see your eyes" Cuddy said. "Your pupils are extremely dilated." She felt Rachel's pulse, which was a little faster than normal. "Do you feel lightheaded? Nauseous? Have any tremors?"

"Yes to all three" Rachel muttered.

"When was the last time you had anything with sugar in it?"

"Why does it matter?" Rachel asked. "I'm really sleepy. Just let me go to bed."

"You're not drinking juice anymore. You're having a plain bagel which has more dietary fiber than it has sugar. You're not cutting sugar out of your diet are you?"

"I just want to go to bed already!" Rachel whined.

"And irritability. Yet another symptom of hypoglycemia" Cuddy said aloud. "Rachel, I used to be an endocrinologist. You can't exactly hide this kind of thing from me."

"Whatever" Rachel muttered. She started to get up, but stumbled when Cuddy caught her.

"Come on! We're going to the kitchen where you're going to have some juice and take your meds followed by a long talk. Understand?" Cuddy grabbed Rachel and guided her towards the kitchen.

"Whatever"

"Considering your state, I'll take that as an enthusiastic yes!"

"I'll take the stupid meds. Just don't make me have the sugar" Rachel said groggily.

"Why the sudden fear of sugar?" Cuddy asked as she sat Rachel down.

"So now you're gonna psychoanalyze me? Wonderful." Cuddy ignored that comment as she placed a glass of OJ in front of Rachel.

"Drink it!" Cuddy ordered.

"Sugar is poison" Rachel mumbled. "It slowly kills your cells. It causes diabetes. It causes obesity. It causes cancer. It causes…"

"Wait!" Cuddy interjected. "Who told you that sugar causes cancer?"

"I read it online"

"And we all know everything that's on the internet is real" Cuddy said in a sarcastic tone "Just drink your juice!" Rachel sighed as she took a tiny sip.

"Ok, I drank it. See ya!" She started to get up.

"Get back here and finish your juice!"

"You just said I had to drink my juice. You never specified how much." Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Now sit down and drink it all and you are not to leave this table until you finish it and take your meds. I don't care if that means you're sitting here all day. Understand?" Rachel nodded. "Good." Rachel sighed in defeat as she realized the daunting task that was ahead of her.

SCENE 4:

The next few days passed by without any incident. Cuddy would watch Rachel take her meds with a glass of OJ every morning before leaving for work. As far as Cuddy knew, Rachel's fear of sugar and skipping of meds was a thing of the past. Little did she know how wrong she really was. After she would leave, Rachel would take the pills out from under her tongue because, regardless of what House had said, Cuddy refused to believe that her daughter would do such a thing and hide medication underneath the tongue.

That Saturday morning, right after both House and Cuddy had left for work, Rachel had spit the pills into the toilet and flushed them down, when an idea came to her as to how she could rid her body of the sugar her mom was forcing her to put into it. Rachel walked downstairs into the basement and started rummaging through a bunch of cabinets and drawers before she finally found what she was looking for; one of her mom's prescription pads. She pulled one of the sheets off and slipped it into her pocket before putting the pad into its rightful place and walked upstairs. Rachel knew that she would have to be very careful with how she executed this plan. Even the slightest error could mean the end for her. Once Rachel was upstairs, she got on her laptop and did a Google search on diabetes medications and their typical doses. She jotted a couple down and, after some careful consideration decided on Metformin 500mg two times daily. Rachel wrote that down on the prescription and, after practicing her mom's signature a couple of times in her notebook, signed it. There was a Pharmacy that was a 10 minute walk from her house. So, Rachel went there and dropped it off.

"Do you have insurance?" the Pharmacist asked her. She did, but she wasn't going to use it otherwise her mom would surely find out. So, Rachel shook her head.

"No, I don't."

"Without insurance, it's going to be about $100. Do you still want me to fill it?" Rachel thought for a moment. On one hand she had come this far and she wanted to prove that she was the one who had control over her body. Still $100 was a lot of money and Rachel didn't know how she was going to get it. She took a deep breath.

"Yeah, please fill it" Rachel finally responded. The pharmacist nodded.

"Alright, then. It should be ready in about 20 minutes."

"Okay, thank you" Rachel responded as she left." $100. How was she going to get $100?

SCENE 5:

"House, have you seen my diamond earrings?" Cuddy called out one morning as she was getting ready for work.

"You lost your diamond earrings? Nice going, Cuddy."

"I didn't lose them House. I just don't know where they went" she called back.

"Which is the definition of losing something" House shot back.

"Never mind" Cuddy called out. "If you see them, let me know. My mother gave me those earrings right before…" she started to say when she began to choke up.

"Just spit it out Cuddy!" House said in a frustrated tone. "She gave them to you before she died. It's the only connection to her you have left. Blah! Blah! Blah! See, it's not so hard." Cuddy walked out of the bathroom and glared at him.

"Just because your relationship with your mother sucked doesn't mean everyone else's did" she said as she hastily snatched her purse. "Thank you very much, House, for getting me into such a wonderful mood right before I have to go to work!"

"You can count on me Cuddles" House said with a devilish grin. Cuddy ignored him.

"Mom! Mom! Mommy!" Rachel called as she ran out of her room and into the hallway. "I need to talk to you something."

"Not now, sweetie. I'm running late for work. Tell me tonight, ok?" Cuddy said as she quickly kissed Rachel goodbye and ran out the door. Rachel felt sick to her stomach as reality hit her full force. What had she done!


	3. Chapter 3

SCENE 1:

House had just arrived at the hospital when Forman greeted him in the lobby. "Great! You're here! I've got a case for you!" he said as he handed House a file.

"And you expect me to blindly accept it? Without even giving me a synopsis or anything?"

"You have eyes. I suggest you use them to review the file of your newest patient" Forman said. "Let me know if you have any problems".

"Ok," House said. "I have a problem. I want a more interesting case!"

"A legitimate problem" Forman clarified as he walked away. House opened up the file and reviewed the case.

_45 y/o female presenting with dizziness, shortness of breath and periodic blackouts. Tox screen negative._

"Loss of consciousness due to Asthma" he muttered under his breath. House picked up his cell and called Forman.

"Hello, Dr. Forman."

"The patient has Asthma you idiot. Give them steroids!" House yelled into the receiver.

"House! Lower your voice. And that doesn't explain the blackouts."

"Passing out from lack of Oxygen does" House shot back. "Your lack of response suggests I'm right. So, what now boss? Leave for the rest of the day?"

"Nope," Forman responded. "Cameron is understaffed in the ER. Go help her for the rest of your shift." And with that he hung up. House immediately than called Cuddy's work number. He got to the menu and then typed in her direct extension.

"Hello, Lisa Cuddy."

"Cuddles!" he exclaimed.

"What do you want, House? I'm extremely busy!"

"What are you wearing?" He could hear her sigh on the other end.

"House, is there a reason you called me up or are you just bored?"

"I solved a case in under 5 minutes without even seeing the patient" House exclaimed. "Aren't you proud of me, Cuddles?"

"So you are bored" she responded. "House, don't you have work you're supposed to be doing?"

"Well, technically I'm supposed to be helping Cameron down in the ER, but…"

"So go do that!" Cuddy instructed.

"Yes, mommy" House said in a mock tone as he hung up the phone. He had no intention of going down to the ER, so he decided to pay the head Oncologist a little visit.

SCENE 2:

Rachel walked over to her locker and saw an envelope taped to it. She pulled the envelope off of her locker and opened it. Inside were pictures. Rachel sat down, leaning against the lockers, to get a better look at them. The first one was of a sign that simply Pawn Shop. _Ok, this is a little weird_ Rachel thought. Then there was a picture of her from far away. _Now this is getting really creepy!_ The last picture made Rachel's heart skip a beat. It was a zoomed in shot of not just any pair of diamond earrings, but the very ones she had stolen from her mom so she could get money for her prescription. Rachel started to hyperventilate. What if Cuddy knew? This was theft! Rachel had stolen and she could go to jail for it! Tears filled Rachel's eyes. She threw the envelope to the floor and saw a little piece of paper slip out. Rachel wiped away her tears, picked it up and read it.

_I know what you did._

_And your mom will too if you don't_

_do exactly as I say. Tomorrow, in the cafeteria,_

_I want you to stand up in front of everyone_

_and scream at the top of your lungs_

_that you are the Queen of STD's. I will be there_

_to see whether or not you actually go through_

_with this. If you don't, than mommy will be _

_receiving a copy of these pictures._

_Until then, bitch!_

Rachel took a deep breath. At least she had until lunch the next day to decide what to do. Either way, she couldn't see things ending well…

The following day, Cuddy was at work when she received a phone call. "Hello, Lisa Cuddy!"

"Hello, Dr. Cuddy, I have Rachel here in my office here with me..." Cuddy's blood began to boil as the Dean of the school told her what Rachel had done in the cafeteria that day.

"She stood up in the cafeteria and said what? I apologize for her behavior. I honestly don't know what has gotten into her. No, I understand. I'll pick her up right now. Ok and again I apologize" Cuddy said before hanging up. She irately left work and it took everything she had not to break the speed limit or to lash out in anger once she got there. Once Rachel was in the car, however, all hell broke loose.

"What were you thinking?" Cuddy shouted. "Well whatever it was, it got you suspended for the rest of the week. So, congratulations! Now you have a black mark on your record for when you apply to college. Good luck getting into any decent college let alone an Ivy League school. Oh, and don't think you'll be sleeping in. No! You are coming with to work with me every day and I will actually be putting you to work. But, seriously, why would you do something as senseless and irresponsible as that?" Rachel stayed silent and stared at the ground. "Answer me, Rachel. Now! Why the hell did you do that?"

"I can't tell you why" Rachel said with tears filling her eyes.

"Well, you have no phone, computer or TV privileges until you do tell me. And if you do need any of these things for homework, I and only I will be strictly supervising you. Understand?"

"Yes," Rachel nervously answered.

"Good!" Cuddy spat out like venom. The rest of the ride home was spent in pure and utter silence.

SCENE 3:

It was 11:00 that night and Cuddy was lying in bed reading when House slipped into bed beside her. "Hey, Cuddles. Watcha reading?" he asked as he snuggled in close to her.

"_The Grapes of Wrath_" Cuddy responded, not bothering to look up from the pages of her book.

"Well, why don't you take a break from that and enjoy some _in house_ style fun, if you know what I mean?" House asked seductively.

"Do you mind, House? I'm trying to read!" Cuddy said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Come on, Cuddy. You know you want to" he said as he slipped his thumb under the strap of her white camisole and flicked it a couple of times. He kissed her on her neck and trailed down her collarbone stopping right before he got to her chest. "Come on Cuddy!" he urged. Cuddy put the book down and turned away from him.

"Look, I'm sorry, House, but I'm just not really in the mood tonight."

"You? Not in the mood?" he asked in a fake disbelieving tone. "What happened?"

"It's Rachel," Cuddy admitted. "I'm worried about her. You see, I know there's something going on with her, but I can't get her to open up to me. I don't know what to do. I'm at my wits-end, House!" Cuddy sat up and buried her face into her bent knees and began to cry. House didn't really know what to do or say so he tentatively patted her on the back.

"Hey, she's a teenage girl. They get into trouble. They keep secrets from their moms. That's normal. She's normal. You've got nothing to worry about. So quit worrying." Cuddy looked up at House.

"I wish I shared your confidence."

"You worry too much; that's your problem" House said. "I know something that'll take your mind off of it, though" he said with a devilish grin. Cuddy sighed.

"I suppose I do need to loosen up a bit." She leaned in and the two engaged in passionate kiss, leading them into a night full of magic and charisma.

SCENE 4:

Rachel was so consumed by guilt that she found it difficult to eat or sleep. Cuddy immediately noticed this sudden personality change and decided to call her out on it. "Is there anything you want to tell me Rachel?" she asked that Saturday morning while they sat at the kitchen table. Rachel just stared at the ground, feeling nauseated. "Rachel what is it?" Tears filled Rachel's eyes.

"If I tell you, you'll hate me" she admitted, still too scared to look at Cuddy.

"I could never hate you" Cuddy said as she placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"Yes you will because I really screwed up this time." Cuddy couldn't even begin to imagine what Rachel could possibly be talking about.

"Well, maybe we can fix it if we work together" Cuddy told her sympathetically.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel said. "I didn't realize how important they were to you."

"How important what was?" Cuddy asked. Then it hit her. The earrings. "Rachel, you didn't take my earrings by any chance, did you?"

"I'm so sorry," Rachel sobbed as she buried her face into her arms. "It's all my fault."

"Do you know where they are now?" Cuddy asked, trying to stay as calm as possible. Rachel nodded.

"I…I pawned them last Monday. Annabell secretly took pictures of me doing it and blackmailed me. That's why I said what I did in front of the whole cafeteria. She was going to show you the pictures she took of me. And I didn't want to get in trouble and have you hate me" Rachel explained. "I didn't know it was her at the time, though. She told me it was her after I did that and then she told me that she wouldn't have shown them to you anyway and that she was just doing it to screw with me. I'm so sorry. I know I messed up really bad this time." Cuddy was shocked. She couldn't have believed that Rachel had actually stolen and pawned her earrings.

"I don't know what to say," Cuddy finally sputtered. "How could you steal from your own mother when all I've done is given you love and taken care of you? You know, if you needed money that bad, I would've given it to you. You didn't have to resort to stealing." Tears were falling down Cuddy's face at that point.

"I'm so sorry. I understand if you hate me and never want to speak to me again." Cuddy looked up at her through glossy eyes.

"Listen to me, Rachel. I will never stop loving you, no matter what. I am just so hurt that you stole from me. Why, Rachel? Why did you do it?" Rachel bit her lip. "It doesn't matter anyway. What matters is that I know I can never trust you again. I just don't know what to do with you anymore." And with that, Cuddy got up and left Rachel sitting there. That hurt Rachel more than any slap or insult could have done. She was a thief and she began to wonder whether or not it was worth losing her family in order to keep feeding her addiction. As much as it hurt, the voice in Rachel's head told her she would be weak and pathetic if she gave in and that, if her mom really loved her, she would understand why she did what she did. Rachel went into her room, popped one of the Metformin's in and washed it down with some water. She didn't bother taking it with food because she was too depressed to eat. Normally Rachel would have called House or Samantha, but she still had no phone privileges, so all she could really do was think. Why was she doing this to herself? What was she accomplishing and was what she was accomplishing truly outweighing what she was losing in return?

"Yes" the voice in her head shouted. "You deserve to starve. They're making you take meds and eat sugar so you can look ugly and they can feel better about themselves."

"No," Rachel whispered as tears ran down her face. "I've forever ruined my relationship with my mom because of this."

"Your mom is trying to poison you with sugar" the voice said. "I'm the only one who cares about you. She's already given up on you. I will never give up on you. Listen to me and do as I say!" Rachel lay down on her bed and closed her eyes as she rocked back and forth.

"No!" Rachel shouted. "Leave me alone! Stop it!" She rocked faster and faster.

"I know what's best for you, damn it!" the voice said, getting louder and louder. "I'm the only one who cares about you. If you give into them, you'll lose all control of your life. Is that what you want, Rachel?"

"No, I can't do this anymore. Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Rachel" she heard a voice in the distance say, but it wasn't the one in her head.

"Make it go away! Make it stop hurting me!" Rachel shouted, who was crying hysterically at that point.

"Make what go away?" the voice said as it got closer. Rachel liked this voice, it was much more soothing.

"It won't get out of my head. It won't leave me alone. It keeps shouting at me!" Rachel felt a soft hand touch her shoulder. Her breathing slowed and she opened her eyes. Cuddy was sitting right next to her, with a concerned expression on her face.

"What happened just now?" Cuddy asked Rachel.

"The voice in my head. It tells me not to trust anyone because it says everyone else is trying to hurt me. Like it told me you're trying to poison me by making me eat sugar and take my meds."

"Rachel, you know that's not true, right?" Cuddy asked. Rachel nodded.

"Can I show you something?" Rachel asked.

"Of course!" Rachel got up and got her Metformin prescription.

"I pawned your earrings so I could buy this. I needed to get rid of the sugar you were making me put in my body." She handed Cuddy the bottle. Cuddy's eyes widened.

"Oh my God! How many of these are you taking a day and how long have you been taking them? And …wait… why is it saying that I prescribed this?"

"Yeah, about that, I sort of wrote myself a prescription for them in your name" Rachel said.

"You did what?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel said staring down at the ground.

"Rachel, do you have any idea how serious this is?"

"Please don't hate me! I promise I won't ever forge your signature or steal from you ever again!"

"That's not the point, Rachel! I don't even care about that right now. The point is you could have died from taking these!"

"I'm sorry. I really am." Rachel looked up at Cuddy.

"Have you been taking your meds? Be honest with me." Rachel hesitantly shook her head no. "I didn't think that you were. Take today's dose in front of me and then we're heading to the hospital to make sure you haven't done any kind of damage to your body." Rachel nodded as she took her necessary pills.

"Just so you know I've taken two a day for the past four days of the other meds" Rachel told Cuddy who simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"Ok, get your purse and let's get going" Cuddy instructed. So Rachel did and they both headed out the door and hurried straight to PPTH.


	4. Chapter 4

Scene 1:

House was sitting in his office, mindlessly drumming his fingers on his desk, when Cameron came rushing in. "House, you're here!" she said breathlessly.

"Cameron, you've got boobs!" House shouted as he triumphantly threw his hands in the air. Cameron stared at him in shock before she walked over and slapped him on the side of the arm. "What? I thought we were having a state-the-obvious contest!" She rolled her eyes at that remark.

"I thought you'd like to know that Rachel was just admitted to the ER" she said curtly.

"Taub's ex?"

"No! Cuddy's daughter" Cameron responded in disbelief.

"OUR daughter" he corrected. "So what's the scoop?" She threw a file down on his desk.

"Info is all in here. Sorry, but I don't have time to stay and chat. I've got a waiting room full of injured people" Cameron explained. "By the way, Cuddy's here too and she's an emotional wreck. For her sake, I hope you decide to go down there." Cameron stared at House for a moment and, after receiving no response, turned around and left his office, slamming the door shut behind her.

House sighed as he opened up the file and began to read.

_Rachel Cuddy 14 y/o female_

_Mild Hypoglycemia due to improper use of Metformin. _

_Also, off of medication for Bipolar Disorder. _

_No physical complications currently found._

_Final Diagnosis: Bipolar Disorder and Orthorexia._

_Suggested Treatment Plan: 30 day inpatient program._

_Afterwards, follow up with a nutritionist 1x week, _

_a Psychiatrist 1x month_

_and attend group therapy sessions 3x weekly._

House shook his head in utter disbelief. How could he have missed all of the signs? After all, he had been a diagnostician for over 20 years. Noticing symptoms that no one else noticed is what he did for God's sake! Was he starting to lose his magic touch or was Rachel just that good at hiding it? House picked up his oversized tennis ball and tossed it in the air as he began to think.

SCENE 2:

Cuddy was standing on the other side of the curtain from where Rachel was, trying to compose herself. The last thing Rachel needed was to see her fall apart. "Lisa?" Cuddy turned around. It was Cameron. "Is everything ok?"

"Obviously not!" Cuddy snapped. "My daughter is slowly killing herself and my so-called boyfriend hasn't even bothered to come down once to see how she's doing. So, no! Everything isn't ok, Allison!" At that point, Cuddy couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She walked over to one of the chairs in the waiting area and sat down as she buried her face in her arms and let the tears fall. Cameron took a seat beside her.

"Hey, you did the right thing by bringing her here. At least now Rachel will get the help she needs." Cuddy looked up at Cameron through blurry eyes. "And, as for House, he may be an ass, but he always ends up coming through in the end." Cuddy wiped away her tears.

"I hope you're right" Cuddy said as she took a deep breath. "Do you truly think Rachel will end up being ok? I mean, it's just that I thought she was finally better and it turns out that she was just really good at hiding her problems from me. Am I a horrible mother because I didn't pick up on it sooner? Because I let it come to this?" Cameron placed her hand on Cuddy's shoulder.

"You're a great mother, Lisa. You really care about Rachel and you want what's best for her. It's just that, unfortunately, people with mental illnesses are very good at hiding their illness, even from professionals. They're very good liars and manipulators." Cameron paused for a moment. "House didn't catch on to this either, did he?" Cuddy shook her head. "See? It wasn't just you. You are not a bad mother. Ok?"

"Thank you, Allison" Cuddy said. "That's exactly what I needed to hear."

"You going to be ok?" Cuddy nodded.

"I should be."

"If you need anything, you know where to find me" Cameron said as she got up and walked away. Cuddy stared down at the ground. She thought about everything that Cameron had just said. It made her feel better about her abilities as being a mother, but Cuddy still didn't feel any better about Rachel's potential prognosis at this point. She took a deep breath and went back into where Rachel was.

"Hi, sweetie!" Cuddy said as she walked over to Rachel's bedside. Rachel turned over and looked up at Cuddy.

"Hi, mommy! What's going on? Am I well enough to leave yet?"

"Physically, yes," Cuddy answered. "Mentally…well, they want to place you into a 30 day intensive care program starting tonight and then…"

"What?" Rachel interjected. "No way! I don't want to, mommy! Please don't make me."

"I don't want you to have to go either" Cuddy confessed. "But I was really scared with what I saw this morning. You were actually hallucinating when I came into your room. At first I thought it might have been due to a drastic drop in blood sugar, but the blood tests show that there wasn't nearly enough of a drop to cause symptoms like that. In fact, your blood sugar only came back three points below normal range, which is very little cause for concern."

"I'll start taking my meds again. I promise!" Rachel pleaded.

"I think you need more than just meds, at this point" Cuddy explained. "And I honestly don't know how to help you, but these people do!"

"So, you're just going to toss me in there and leave me and forget about me like I'm a piece of trash?" Rachel started to cry.

"No, it's not like that" Cuddy argued.

"Really because, from where I am, it sounds exactly like that" Rachel said turning away, so her back was facing Cuddy. "I don't want to talk anymore!" Cuddy sighed as she left and headed down towards the cafeteria.

SCENE 3:

House didn't have a case for the time being, so he figured he might as well go down and check on Rachel. He grabbed his cane and headed towards the ER, trying to maintain a stoic expression the whole way down. He walked over to the nurse's station and grabbed a copy of the nurses' log in order to find out where Rachel was. "Nice to see you at our end of the hospital for once, Dr. House" one of the nurse's said.

"Yeah, yeah" House grumbled. "Take a picture because you might never see this again." The nurse just shook her head and walked away with a smirk on her face.

House continued on and had just about reached where Rachel was when he heard her scream. House sprinted over as fast as he could, ignoring the increasing level of pain in his leg. When he reached Rachel's room, he saw a girl with long strawberry-blonde hair hovering over her bed. "Get the hell away from her!" House shouted as he lunged towards the girl and went to reach her. She was too quick and ducked underneath his arm. The mystery girl didn't anticipate his cane being there, however, and promptly tripped over it giving House enough time to turn around and pull her up by the arm. "Who the hell are you?" House shouted in the girl's face. She said nothing. "Oh, so now you decide to be quiet and not know anything? How convenient." He turned towards Rachel. "You ok, kiddo?" Rachel nodded.

"Her…her name is Annabell" Rachel sputtered.

"Oh, so this is the infamous little bitch." Annabell scowled at him. "What's wrong? You can dish it, but you can't take it? Oh, you and I are going to have so much fun together" he said as he led Annabell outside into the waiting area. House walked over to a security guard. "I need you to watch this one extra close for me. She's a former psych patient." The security guard nodded as he glared down at Annabell. House walked around the corner and called Cuddy's cell.

SCENE 4:

Cuddy was sitting in the Cafeteria drinking a cup of coffee. She was really hurt that Rachel was pushing her away like this, but she also knew that this was part of the illness and she couldn't take any of what Rachel said personally. Suddenly Cuddy's cellphone began to ring, breaking her free from her thoughts. "Hello," Cuddy answered.

"Cuddles get your butt up to the ER pronto!" House said with an unusual sense of urgency.

"What's going on? Is everything ok?"

"If it was, I wouldn't be calling you telling you to come up here, now would I?"

"Oh my God! What happened?" Cuddy panicked as she thought of every single possible worse-case scenario.

"Just get your butt up here!" House shouted before hanging up. Cuddy grabbed her coffee and ran down the corridors, making it to the ER in record time. It took a minute before she spotted House but, when she did, she immediately ran over as she called out to him.

"House! What's going on?" she said as she approached him, sounding almost out of breath.

"Follow me and I'll show you" House said as he lead Cuddy over to where the security guard was. "You know this girl?" he asked as he pointed towards Annabell. Cuddy gasped.

"Oh my God! What are you doing here? You stay away from my daughter! Do you hear me?" Cuddy shouted. "How did you get here? How did you find out where she was?"

"Cuddy, relax and let the girl talk" House said as he put his hand on her shoulder. Cuddy pushed it off.

"Don't you dare tell me to relax when my daughter's well-being is at stake!" she sneered. "And you! Answer my questions, now!"

"The 5th amendment says I don't have to" Annabell responded in a snarky tone. "And thus I won't."

"Do you really want the big bad bitch to take you to court?" House said as he glared down and stared at Annabell. "Because that's what'll happen if you don't answer and, if you go to court, you will lose. Trust me on that one, little girl."

"Ha!" Annabell said. "Like my Uncle Mark lost to her? No one will believe a word Rachel says because she's a psychopath. And no one will believe you" she said turning towards Cuddy. "Because you're the one who raised a psychopath in the first place. Face it, my family will win every time and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Is that so?" Cuddy responded. "Because I actually just did a lot about it while you were busy yapping!" Annabell stared at her with a confused expression.

"Fine! I'll leave and I won't come back anymore!" she sneered.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere" Cuddy shot right back. She turned towards House. "I'm going to check on Rachel now. The police should be here in about 10 minutes. And…"

"What? The police?" Annabell cried out. "I didn't touch her! I swear!"

"Then what'd you come to do? Apologize?" House asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Um…yeah"

"Hey, Cuddy has hell frozen over yet? Nope? Have pigs learned how to fly? Nope? Then you're not here to apologize."

"Thank you House…for everything" Cuddy said. She gave Annabell one last piercing glare before she turned around and walked away.

SCENE 5:

Rachel was sitting up in her bed, still in shock over what had just happened, when Cuddy came running in. "Rachel, are you ok? I just heard what happened! I want you to know that…" Cuddy started to say when Rachel started waving her hands wildly in the air and interrupted her.

"Mommy, stop talking!" she practically shouted. So Cuddy did. "Annabell was just in here. She took my hearing aids, so I can't hear a word you're saying. I'm sorry." Cuddy walked over and sad down on the edge of her bed. She grabbed the notepad.

"Annabell is with a security guard. I called the police. They should be here in a few minutes" Cuddy wrote down. Rachel smiled. She reached for the notepad, which Cuddy promptly handed towards her.

"We both need to learn sign language so I don't always need to be dependent on the hearing aids." She handed the pad back to Cuddy.

"We'll see" wrote back. "I'm still going to get you a new pair of hearing aids ASAP" she added below. Cuddy handed the pad back to Rachel.

"Thanks" Rachel said aloud. Cuddy nodded.

"Do you need anything?" Cuddy wrote. Rachel shook her head. "I'm going to head out now. I'll be back in a few minutes. I promise" Cuddy wrote down. Rachel nodded. Cuddy stood up and walked back out into the waiting area and saw that Annabell was still with the security guard. Cuddy walked right over. "What did you do with Rachel's hearing aids?" she demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Annabell lied.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know that you took them. What'd you do with them?" Cuddy asked with true disdain in her voice.

"Nothing. Ok. I don't have them!"

"Empty your pockets" Cuddy demanded.

"No and you can't force me!"

"Do you realize how guilty you look now?" Cuddy asked Annabell as she glared down at her. "If you truly have nothing to hide than you should have no problem proving me wrong by emptying your pockets."

"So what if I took them? You can't prove anything?" Cuddy turned towards the security guard.

"Does that sound like probable cause for a search to you?" he nodded.

"No way!" Annabell screamed. "I am not having some dude feel me up!"

"That's fine" Cuddy said. "We'll just wait until the police get here and have a female officer do the search and have the theft go on your record or you could just give me the hearing aids now and I won't report them as ever being stolen. Your choice."

"Fine," Annabell said as she took them out of her pocket and handed them to Cuddy. "But don't think you've won, bitch!" she muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing" Annabell quickly said.

"That's what I thought" Cuddy responded as she walked away with Rachel's hearing aids in hand.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry about the delay with getting this written and posted. I've been dealing with some medical issues of my own. Also, I want to focus more on Huddy in this chapter. Rachel will still be in it, though. Not going to say anymore, because I don't want to spoil anything. Anyway, back to the story!

SCENE 1:

Cuddy was sitting on the edge of her bed just staring off into a revere of emptiness when House came strolling in. Cuddy didn't budge when he sat down on the bed next to her. "Hey Cuddles! Earth to Cuddles! You there?" She ignored him as she simply got up and walked over to the other side of the bed and sat back down, her with her back facing House. House lay down on the bed and turned towards her. "Cuddy! Lisa! What's wrong?" She turned to face him, tears falling down her face.

"What's wrong?" Cuddy exclaimed. "Everything. For one thing, I feel like the world's crappiest mother. I just dumped my daughter off in a loony bin because I couldn't 'deal with her anymore' as she shouted at me just before I left her at the treatment center. The thing is I feel so guilty for doing that. Yet a part of me is relieved that I don't have to deal with her and her god damn drama anymore. And just feeling relieved makes me feel even guiltier. That's what's wrong, House!" She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. "I just feel so lost and confused. And if I feel this way, I can only imagine how Rachel is feeling right now." House didn't know what to say to all this, so he just simply nodded and held Cuddy in his arms.

"You know," House said after a couple of minutes. "Rachel was going to hate you no matter what you did. Might as well have her hate you for caring, rather than for not caring. And as for just dumping her off, at least you give a shit about your kid and tried to do something about it rather than acting like an ignorant bastard like most of the parents I see come through PPTH. Those are the people who should feel guilty. The ones who see that their child has a problem and they sit around on their asses expecting the problem to solve itself." House let go of Cuddy who forced a smile.

"Despite the excessive cursing, that's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Thank you, House!" Cuddy sighed. "It's just that 30 days is a long time. Rachel has never been away from home for that long before. I feel so helpless sitting here at home while she's probably being prodded with needles and undergoing a bunch of other testing. The girl must be terrified!" Cuddy's body immediately tensed up. Sensing this, House moved closer and stroked Cuddy's shoulder and triceps.

"Face it, Cuddy. You can't always be there for her. You've tried and you've failed. Now it's time to put her in the hands of the professionals. I mean, think about it, if a kid needs an operation, their parents put their kid's life in the hands of the surgeon's rather than just performing the operation themselves, right?" Cuddy giggled.

"Well, obviously the parents aren't qualified to…"

"And neither are you" House interjected.

"Point taken!"

"Good. Now enough of this jibber-jabber already!" Cuddy rolled her eyes, but leaned in closer and placed her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and, within minutes, she was fast asleep.

SCENE 2:

House was sitting at his desk, playing online poker, when his cellphone rang. "House's house of…"

"House its Cuddy!" he heard her urgently say. "I wanted to let you know that I just got a call from Rachel begging me to sign her out. She's probably going to be trying to call you next. No matter how horrible she says the program is and no matter how guilty she tries to make you feel, do not go up there and sign her out. Ok?"

"Like I want to leave the comfort of my office to go all the way to the 9th floor and be surrounded by a bunch of loony's!" House sarcastically responded.

"House, I'm serious! Do not even give her any hope that she's leaving the program before the 30 days is up. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, sure. Now if you don't mind, I've got important business to tend to."

"But House, I want to be sure…"

"I get it. Be sure the kid stays in the loony bin for the rest of the month" House said right before he hung up. Sure enough, two minutes later, there was a call from the 9th floor.

"House's house of…"

"House its Rachel!" he heard the girl anxiously say. "Look, they're only giving me 3 minutes of phone time! I need you to get me out of here now!"

"And why exactly should I do that?"

"Because I don't belong here!" Rachel argued. "Yeah, I was stupid with what I did with the pills. Ok? But I can function normally in society. I mean some of the people here don't even know who they are or what year it is. It's scary in here. I'm afraid I'll actually get worse if I stay in here. Please come and get me, House! Like now! Please!" House was torn. Cuddy's words echoed in his head, yet he had been in her exact position when he went to Mayfield and, truth be told, he didn't think Rachel belonged there either. "House! You there? I only have a minute left."

"Yeah, um…I'll do what I can" he finally said. "Just give me some time"

"Thanks!" Rachel said. "You're the best! I have to go now!" And with that she hung up. House hung up, not believing the hole that he had just dug himself into.

SCENE 3:

"Wilson! I need your help with some damage control!" House announced as he barged into Wilson's office.

"What did you do this time, House?"

"Rachel is in the psych ward. Not my fault. The thing is, I need you to sign her out" House explained as he sat down in the leather chair in front of Wilson's desk and propped his feet up on Wilson's desk.

"Why can't you or Cuddy sign her out?" Wilson asked as he pushed House's feet off of his desk.

"Cuddy actually wants to abide by the rules of the program and doesn't want to sign her out until the 30 days are up and I promised Rachel that she'd get signed out before then. The problem is Cuddy told me that I couldn't sign her out. That's where you come in. She's here on the 9th floor." Wilson leaned forward and arched his eyebrow.

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to go sign Rachel out and then take the heat from Cuddy?"

"Thanks, I knew you'd understand!" House started to get up.

"And why exactly should I do this?"

"Because, my dear Wilson," House answered in a mocking voice, "we wouldn't want Emily to find out about your one night stand with Cameron. Now would we?"

"What are you talking about, House?"

"You went over her apartment 3 weeks ago and I can prove it because I have photographic evidence."

"She wanted me to review an article she was writing before she submitted it to the 'New England Medical Journal not that it's any of your business!'" Wilson protested. "And how did you even know I was there? Were you spying on me? Did you send Lucas out to spy on me?" House ignored the last half of what Wilson said.

"We'll see what Emily has to say when she receives a copy of those pictures the mail."

"You don't have any pictures, House. You're just trying to trick me into doing your dirty work for you!" Wilson nervously argued.

"Am I? Now do you really want to take that chance, Wilson?" Wilson gulped.

"Ok, fine. I'll sign Rachel out. But you owe me big time for this!" Wilson said as he grabbed his briefcase and scurried out of his office. House couldn't believe it. He had stolen Annabell's trick and Wilson had fallen for it. So, essentially, Wilson was outsmarted by a 14 year-old girl.

SCENE 4:

Cuddy was sitting at her work desk when her phone rang. "Hello, Lisa Cuddy!"

"Dr. Cuddy, this is Mary Walsh from the Psych Center at Princeton Plainsboro. I have a Dr. James Wilson here to sign your daughter Rachel out, but he's not on the initial contact release list. Since Rachel is under 18, we need your verbal authorization in order for him to sign her out." Cuddy's mouth dropped open when she heard this. What the hell was Wilson thinking with signing Rachel out only 3 days into the program and how did he even know Rachel was in the program to begin with? House! Of course! He must have been the diabolical mind behind this.

"What? No! I do not want her released until the 30 days are up" Cuddy responded.

"Ok. That's all I needed from you" the woman said. "Thank you for your time, Dr. Cuddy."

"Of course" Cuddy cordially responded. "Have a nice day" she said before promptly ending the call and dialing House's cell number.

"Cuddy. Is it time for our phone sex session already?" House sarcastically asked after he answered her call.

"I want you out of my house!" Cuddy shouted into the receiver. The woman in the next cubicle looked over at Cuddy with a startled expression on her face. "Sorry," Cuddy mouthed. "I just got a very interesting phone call" Cuddy said in a much softer but still threatening tone.

"Oh? Wilson trying to get phone sex from you again? Yeah, I have to talk to him about that."

"No," Cuddy curtly responded. "Although, it does involve Wilson. It involves him trying to sign Rachel out of the recovery program early, but not being able to because he wasn't on the initial contact release form I signed. Now only three people knew Rachel was entering this program: you, me and Cameron. Now I certainly didn't tell Wilson that Rachel was up there. This leaves you and Cameron. Let's see! There's you, who finds joy in breaking rules and regulations and has no regards what-so-ever when it comes to ethics. Then there's Cameron who follows the rules like Scripture and who I believe would rather die than do anything unethical." She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "I tend to think you somehow blackmailed Wilson into signing Rachel out. Now the question is how? Not that it's important. What is important, however, is that I want both you and all of your crap out of my place by 8pm. Is that understood?"

"Where the hell am I supposed to stay?" House whined.

"Why don't you stay with your bestie, Wilson?"

"He's got a girlfriend. No way am I sleeping on the couch while listening to them engage in hot sex all night."

"You know what, House? I don't give a damn where you stay" Cuddy tersely responded. "Just be out by 8."

"But Cuddy…" he started to say when she hung up on him. "Crap! Holy freakin' crap!" he muttered under his breath. House was officially screwed and, as if 8 that night, he was also going be homeless.

SCENE 5:

It was 10:30 that night. House had packed up all his stuff and checked into a hotel about 20 minutes from PPTH. He lay on the bed feeling so alone. He had grown so accustomed to Cuddy's smile, her soft touch, her embracing hugs and the way she seemed to breathe in a soft melody while she slept. The thing was, for most of his life, House had assumed he'd end up alone and that he'd end up enjoying the solitary life. He was partially right. Even though House knew the chances were slim, he still, wished there was a way that he could explain to Cuddy why he did what he did. The thing was he loved Rachel and he couldn't stand to see her suffer; he had let his emotions get the better of him.

"Ha! Yeah, that'll be the day" he could hear Cuddy's voice say in his head and he knew that honesty wasn't always the best policy. Neither was lying, apparently, or even withholding information. It seemed as if the universe was conspiring against him, preventing him from ever having a successful relationship with Cuddy.

"Damn universe" House muttered under his breath and then he felt so pathetic for believing in such childish things; that some cosmic force was in control of his destiny. No! It was his own damn fault that he was kicked out of both Cuddy's house and her life. She had given him multiple chances, more chances than he deserved, and he realized that she might not give him another one. Was he willing to accept that? He wasn't willing, he decided, but he would accept it if that's what she chose to do. Still, House waned to apologize to Cuddy and explain that, although stupid and poorly planned, his actions were well-intended. But he knew that Cuddy would want her space and the last person she wanted to see or hear from was him. After some consideration, House decided to write her a letter and stick it in her mailbox while she was at work. It was the least confrontational approach he could think of and she had the choice of whether or not she even wanted to read it to begin with. So, House sat down, with a pen and the hotel pad, and began to pour out his heart on the pages hoping to dear God that this would work.


	6. Chapter 6

SCENE 1:

_Dear Lisa_,

_I'm not asking for you to take me back or to even forgive me. All I'm asking is that you read this letter and hear my side of the story. If you still choose to hate me and not be a part of my life after reading this…well, I'm not saying I'll be ok with it, but I'll accept it._

_I really don't know how to write these kinds of letters and I certainly don't know how to be romantic in real life, let alone in said letters. So, I'm just going to come straight out say what I need to say. I'm sorry for what I did; interfering in both yours and Rachel's lives. Believe it or not, this was my way of trying to help. I guess I can't even do that right, huh? Though you must have known going into this relationship that you were hooking up with a screw-up that can't do anything right. A screw up who takes after his fucking father. I guess Rachel got her drug problem and stubbornness from me. She certainly didn't get it from you. You're too perfect to ever mess up like that, to even mess up at all, and I envy you for that sometimes. I don't even know why you wasted your time with a guy like me when you can get any guy that you want. Still, I enjoyed having you around, more than you will ever know. You filled a void in my life that I never even knew existed. And, now that you're gone, I can't help but to feel like a part of me is gone too. You ripped off a piece of my fucking heart, Lisa, while it was still beating in my goddamn chest and merely tossed it away._

_As I was saying before, what I did was solely in Rachel's best interest because I care about her. I could hear the pain in her voice when she called me and it reminded me of how I felt while I was at Mayfield. I didn't want her to go through the same terrors that I did. I guess my desire to protect her clouded my judgment. That's why you make a much better parent than me. You don't get blindsided and manipulated by those sorts of things. No, you always manage to see things at face value… I have to stop writing now. I'm hiding out in an empty exam room in the clinic and I can hear Forman coming. Just know that I care about you and Rachel more than anything else in the world, even my precious Xbox._

_G.H._

House walked out of the exam room, snuck past Forman, grabbed a pre-paid hospital envelope, and mailed the letter. Now all he could do was wait and hope for the best.

SCENE 2:

Lisa Cuddy walked outside on a sunny Saturday afternoon in order to collect her mail. She sat down in the rocking chair situated on her porch and began to sift through everything. Bill. Bill. Junk. Bill. Then she came across a letter from PPTH. This was odd. Cuddy thought she had already paid for Rachel's program in full. Maybe it was just a receipt. Cuddy put the other envelops aside and opened this letter. She drew in a deep breath as she looked at the all too familiar handwriting. How dare he trick her into thinking this was a legitimate letter from the hospital just to get her to open it! Cuddy was about to throw it away when she decided to humor him and read what was most likely going to be a pathetic excuse for a letter. Cuddy got about half way through when her eyes filled with tears. _Though you must have known going into this relationship that you were hooking up with a screw up that can't do anything right._

"No!" Cuddy thought to herself. "Please don't think that, House!" Sure Cuddy was mad at him, but never once did she think of him as a screw up. Then she read the next line.

_A screw up who takes after his father_. At this point, Cuddy felt a lump form in her throat. House was nothing like his father and she had just assumed that he already knew that. Apparently he didn't. Cuddy never realized how damaged House's self-esteem was. He hid that so well behind his mask of sarcasm and snarkiness. Cuddy took a deep breath as she struggled to read on. Her eyes filled with tears when she reached the last paragraph. _I could hear the pain in her voice_ and _I didn't want her to go through the same horrors that I did._ Why hadn't she thought of that? No! Why did she automatically have to assume the worst and think that House did what he did solely to defy her? In his mind, he was doing what he thought was best, which was trying to save her by helping her escape. The next line really hit her hard. _That's why you make a much better parent than me_.

"I'm not as perfect as you think I am, House" Cuddy muttered under her breath, "because I just made a huge mistake." Cuddy finished reading the letter, folded the letter and stuffed it back into the envelope. Then she grabbed the other letters and rushed inside. She hoped House was ok and wasn't doing anything reckless to try and numb the pain that she had so selfishly thrust upon him. Cuddy immediately picked up her phone and dialed House's cell. Her stomach knotted up when it went to voicemail. "House, this is Cuddy. I got your letter. I am so sorry for everything. I completely overreacted. Please call me back the second you get this. Again, I'm really sorry. I really hope you are doing ok and that I hear from you real soon. Bye, now." By this point, Cuddy was completely flustered. After taking a minute to calm herself down, Cuddy called the next person on her list; Wilson.

"Dr. Wilson, Oncology" she heard House's best friend answer in a very professional tone.

"James, hi, it's Lisa. Do you know where House is?" Cuddy asked, trying to remain calm.

"I'm assuming you got the letter" Wilson said in a very nonchalant tone.

"Yes," Cuddy responded. "I need to know that he's ok."

"Well that depends on your definition of ok" Wilson shot back. "He's back on high doses of Vicodin and drowning himself in booze and porn. But he's still showing up to work every day and is just as competent as ever when it comes to solving his cases." Cuddy's stomach knotted up as she felt a wave of nausea wash over her.

"Is he at the hospital now?" she nervously asked.

"I can't tell you" Wilson told her with a bit of harshness in his voice. "House doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, especially you." Cuddy's eyes began to tear and she struggled to hold back the waterworks. Her resolve was weakening, though.

"But, James…" she tried to plead when Wilson interrupted her.

"If you truly care about House's well-being than you'll respect his wishes" Wilson said before he hung up on her. Cuddy sighed as she hung up the phone and broke down into tears. She was torn between giving House the space Wilson said he needed and risking everything to chase after the man she loved. Going against every fiber of reason in her body, Cuddy wiped away her tears and made the rash decision to jump into her car and head straight to PPTH.

SCENE 3:

House was sitting at his desk, watching some prank videos on Youtube when Forman entered his office. "House! I need you in my office now" Forman informed him.

"Hold on. Let me just finish watching this video" he said as he turned the monitor towards Forman. "See, this idiotic kid here is going to attempt roller skating off his roof and into his pool. He is so going to be…hey!" House exclaimed when the monitor went blank. He looked up and saw Forman holding the now unplugged computer cord. "What the hell?"

"My office, now!" Forman repeated in a very stern tone."

"What'd I do?" House whined as he got up and grabbed his cane. He hobbled after Forman.

"There's someone in my office who wants to see you" Forman responded as they headed down the corridor and over to the elevator.

"Whoever it is, they're lying. I didn't do it and I've never seen them before in my life" House said as they got into the elevator. Forman ignored that comment. The pair then reached the first floor a few seconds later.

"That's going to be kind of hard to prove, House, since you know this person quite well."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" House asked as they reached Forman's office. Forman opened the door and revealed a nervous Cuddy standing there. House rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me" House muttered as he turned to look at Forman.

"Go in" Forman adamantly instructed as he ushered House inside. "You have five minutes" Forman said as he promptly shut the door behind him. Cuddy looked up and forced a small smile.

"Hi," Cuddy uttered as she took a step towards him.

"Hi," House merely repeated.

"I got your letter" Cuddy said, attempting to break the ice. "First of all, I want to say that I do forgive you. And second, I admit that went completely overboard with both what I did and said. Granted, you shouldn't have completely disregarded my orders by promising Rachel you'd sign her out of the program, but I do understand why you did what you did. If it's ok with you, let's both admit we made a mistake and try to move on with things."

"So, what are you saying? Do you want me to still be a part of Rachel's life? Because I can just disappear, if you want me to, and make everyone happy."

"No, House!" she cried as she walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "No one wants you to disappear. It's up to you, but I would really love it if you would move back in with us because, contrary to what you said in your letter, you make a wonderful father."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Positive" Cuddy responded without a moment's hesitation. "I didn't even think about you and how you'd take this before I yelled at you and kicked you out and I'm really sorry for that. But, I know Rachel best and I need you to trust me when it comes to parenting her. Of course I want your input, but neither of us can be doing anything behind the other's back. Raising a child is a team effort. Ok?" Cuddy removed her hand and looked up at House.

"And what happens after the next fight? And the fight after that?" he asked, his voice rising in volume. "We go through some dramatic break-up and I have to hope that you'll once again change your mind and take me back? I'm sorry Cuddy, but I can't keep on doing this."

"Neither can I" she admitted. "And I'm really sorry about everything. I wonder if part of the reason why Rachel is having so many problems is because of our screwed up relationship." She took a deep breath. "Regardless, we're both going to have to work hard at this if we want to make it as a family." House nodded. "You'll probably think this is ridiculous, but would you consider giving couple's therapy a try? Maybe put an end to this nonsense once and for all?" House rolled his eyes. "I know you hate the idea, but we've tried doing this on our own and the results are always disastrous. I want you to be a part of my life and Rachel's life, but we can't keep going on like this. It's not fair to us or to her."

"Ok," House finally responded. "I'm willing to give it a try,"

"Great. So are you planning on moving back in?" House nodded.

"And miss out on some late night action with you? Never!" Cuddy rolled her eyes and playfully slapped him on the arm.

"Good," she responded. "Well, I think it's time you get back to work, Dr. House. I'll see you tonight." Cuddy confidently strode out of Forman's office leaving House standing there, completely dumbfounded, as he tried to process everything that had just happened.


	7. Chapter 7

SCENE 1:

Rachel was in her room at the Psych Ward busily packing up her stuff when a man walked in. "Ready for your last session, Rachel?" She looked up and nodded. "Good. Follow me to my office, then." Rachel followed the man down the hall, into his office and sat down in a leather chair that faced his desk. The man came in, shutting the door behind him, before he sat down behind his desk. "So, Rachel, how do you feel about going home today?"

"Good, Dr. Rossen" she eagerly responded. "I can't wait!"

"Typical response" he said with a bit of a chuckle. "We just have to go over a few things and then I'll invite your parents in so they can join us. Sound ok?" Rachel nodded. "Good. Ok, here's your meal plan" he said handing her a sheet of paper. "This meal plan is like your bible. You must follow it verbatim. Understand?" Rachel nodded. "Ok then. I have set you up with a nutritionist, at this hospital, who you'll see once a month. You'll also be seeing me once a week for individual therapy and will be attending group therapy sessions three times a week. Do you have any questions so far?"

"Yeah, how long do I have to do this for?" Rachel asked.

"The group therapy is three times a week for one month and then once a week for two months. The nutritionist visits are for six months and your individual therapy is going to be indefinite; until I feel you're ready to stop."

"Ok," Rachel responded.

"Your parents have already signed you out and collected your things from the front desk. I'm going to invite them in here where you'll read them the letter that you wrote. Then I'll go over some things with them alone while you finish packing. When you're done, head over to the common area where we'll meet you. Understand?"

"Yes," Rachel responded.

"Are you ready for your parents to come in now?" Rachel nodded her head excitedly. Dr. Rossen picked up the phone and pushed a button. "Hello? Yes, this is Dr. Rossen. Can you please send Rachel Cuddy's parents over to my office now? Great! Thank you!" he said before he promptly hung up the phone. Rachel sat back and sighed in anticipation as she wondered what their reaction would be when she read them her letter. Would they be mad? Understanding? Disappointed? A mixture of the above? Her thoughts were broken when she heard the familiar clack of heels and cane pounding on the floor. A few seconds later House and Cuddy walked into the room.

"Mommy! House!" Rachel squealed as she ran over and gave each of them a hug.

"Hello, Rachel" Cuddy happily greeted. "We've missed you so much, sweetie!"

"Hey kiddo!" House said.

"Dr. Cuddy, Dr. House. It's a pleasure to meet you" he said extending his hand. Cuddy shook it, but House was already sitting down and simply gave a courteous nod. "Please take a seat, Dr. Cuddy."

"Thank you," she said as she sat down in a chair directly to the left of Rachel.

"I feel that Rachel has made quite a bit of progress while in this program" Dr. Rossen started off by saying. "With that said, however, she still has a ways to go; which I would like to discuss with both of you further, in a few minutes. Right now, however, Rachel wrote a letter to the two of you that I would like for her to read now." Cuddy sat straight up, folded her hands underneath her chin and turned her head towards Rachel. House didn't budge. "Dr. House, I would really appreciate it if you could come over here and listen to this."

"Why? I can hear fine from over here" House protested from his chair in the back corner of the room. Cuddy turned towards him and shot daggers with her eyes.

"House! Get over here now!" she ordered in a dangerously low voice.

"Fine," he muttered as he took a seat on the other side of Rachel.

"Sorry about that" Cuddy apologized to Dr. Rossen. She then turned towards Rachel. "Now, sweetie, we would really love to hear your letter whenever you're ready to read it."

"Okay," Rachel said. She took a deep breath and began to read.

_Dear Mommy and House,_

_I am really sorry for everything I did to hurt you. The lying, the pills, the insults, threats of suicide and so on. You did not deserve any of that. You two are the most amazing parents ever and I want you to know that. Mommy, you took me in and treat me as your own when my own birth parents wouldn't even give me the time of day. You were there for me after Mark and Annabell hurt me and after Sophie was shot. I couldn't handle any of those things alone and you made sure that I was never alone. I took advantage of your kindness and I'm really sorry. I hope that you can forgive me._

Cuddy's eyes began to tear up. "Of course I forgive you, Rachel" she interrupted as she gave Rachel a quick hug. "I'm sorry. Please continue." So Rachel did.

_And House. You love me and helped me in your own way. You always make me feel safe when you're around and you made mommy and me very happy when you asked mommy to marry her. I never did say thank you for any of that. So, I'm saying it now. Thank you! Also, you always know how to cheer me up when I am down by making me laugh and feel happy. I was so happy when mommy told me that you decided to become my legal guardian, in addition to her. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my daddy._

Rachel took a deep breath before continuing.

_I know you want me to be the perfect daughter mommy by having me take all AP classes, go to an IVY league school after I graduate and just being an overachiever in general. I'm doing my best. I really am, but I'm not perfect. I'm far from it. I'm not you; I'm only me and sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough for you when I can't accomplish what you want me to. I need you to learn to accept my limitations. And House, I really love you, but I need you to realize that not everything is a joke and, although you mean well, some of the jokes you direct towards me can be very hurtful. I've heard you say things like "Rachel doesn't care if I make fun of her. In fact, she likes it!" No! I hate it. I just never said anything because I don't want to drive you away. I want a father-figure in my life._

_Not that it's any excuse, but both of these things were part of the reason I hurt myself the way I did. I'm sorry if what I'm saying is hurting you, but it has to be said. I'm never going to get better if I'm not honest and straight forward with you guys! Just know that I love you both with all my heart and I will always love you, no matter what!_

_Love,_

_Rachel_

Rachel nervously looked up at House and then turned towards Cuddy. "Rachel, I am so sorry" Cuddy cried out. "I never meant to push you so hard or to ever make you feel inferior. I just get overly ambitious about your future sometimes because I want what's best for you. I am so sorry that I hurt you so much in the process. I promise to back down if you promise to let me know when I start to become overbearing. Ok?" Rachel nodded. "You are so sweet and smart and beautiful. I want you to know that." Rachel smiled.

"Thank you, mommy!" Cuddy gave Rachel a bear-tight hug that lasted about a minute.

"Don't you have anything to say House?" Cuddy pressed after they broke free of the hug.

"Yeah," House muttered. "Sorry for my chronic sarcastic and damn witty comments. I didn't realize they bothered you. So, yeah." Cuddy shook her head as she turned towards Dr. Rossen.

"For him, that's a sincere whole-hearted apology" she explained. Dr. Rossen simply nodded. "So are you going to tone the comments down, House?" Cuddy pressed.

"I guess," House muttered. Cuddy's eyes narrowed. "I mean yes, of course. I love you Rachel!" he quickly added.

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it."

"Of course," Cuddy responded with a smile. House simply nodded.

"Is there anything else any of you would like to say?" Dr. Rossen asked. All three shook their heads in unison. "Alright then, Rachel, why don't you finish packing up while I have a word with your parents?"

"Ok," Rachel said as she got up. "Bye guys. See you in a few!" Rachel walked out, shutting the door behind her.

SCENE 2:

Rachel had just arrived home and was taking in the familiar scenery when House and Cuddy walked up behind her. "Don't worry, nothing's changed!" Cuddy assured her. Rachel turned to look up at her.

"How's Sophie?" Rachel asked. House and Cuddy looked at each other.

"Let's go inside and unpack your things" Cuddy quickly said.

"How's Sophie?" Rachel pressed with more urgency in her voice this time. Cuddy turned towards House.

"House, why don't you tell her since this was your doing anyway?" Cuddy sneered.

"Hey! I wasn't the one who wandered off!" he protested.

"No, but you were the one who…" Cuddy started to say when Rachel interrupted her.

"Sophie ran away? Do you know where she is? Please tell me she came back, mommy!" Rachel pleaded with tears falling down her eyes. Cuddy sighed.

"Let's go inside" Cuddy once again told her.

"Not until you tell me what's going on with Sophie!" Rachel demanded.

"House was supposed to be watching Sophie yesterday. He had her on the front lawn and then went in to watch some stupid show, but forgot to let Sophie in."

"Hey, _Beavus and Butthead_ is not stupid!" House argued.

"The name itself is stupid!" Cuddy said, shaking her head. "Anyway, I came home a few hours later and asked him where Sophie was. I got an 'I'll be right back' as he frantically searched the premises for her. Apparently, Sophie ran off and we haven't seen her since." Rachel's eyes widened.

"I can't believe you guys! Sophie was my best friend and you couldn't even take care of her right." Rachel ran into the house crying.

"Nice going, Cuddy!" House said in a mocking tone.

"Me? It's your fault. You were supposed to be the one watching her. Whatever!" she said as she waved her hands in the air. "We can't change the past, but we are doing whatever we can to fix this. And by 'we' I do not mean me" Cuddy said, noticing House's attempt to sneak away. "You are helping as well, Mister" she said as she grabbed House by the arm and dragged him towards the front door. "I am making the posters and you are going to make copies and help me hang them up throughout the neighborhood and hand them out to people. Understood?"

"Yes mistress," House responded in a defeated tone.

"Good," Cuddy responded as she walked inside. "Now come on!" she said as she dragged House inside by the arm and promptly shut the door behind them.

SCENE 3:

Rachel was sitting on her bed, thinking about Sophie, when she heard a soft tap on her door. "What?" Rachel crudely spat.

"Honey, it's me" she heard Cuddy say. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, I guess" Rachel responded, so Cuddy opened up the door.

"Rachel, I am so sorry" Cuddy said as she sat down on the bed next to her. Rachel remained silent. "I absolutely hate that you had to come home to this. I trusted House but, as always, he managed to screw up big time."

"So that's your response to this whole thing?" Rachel uttered in disbelief. "Blame everything on House and take absolutely no responsibility for yourself."

"Rachel, I wasn't even home. I had no control over the situation!" Cuddy protested. "There is no way I could have ever predicted what was going to happen. Believe me, if I knew, I would have done everything in my power to make sure that Sophie didn't run off. I promise."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Rachel look at me!" Cuddy demanded. After a few seconds, Rachel finally did. "I'm very sorry for what happened, but blaming me isn't going to make the situation any better."

"Really? Isn't that what you were just doing with House? Blaming him?" Rachel pointed out. Cuddy thought for a few seconds.

"Yeah, it was. Wasn't it?" Cuddy admitted. "I'm sorry. I didn't even realize I was being hypocritical. Thank you for pointing that out for me, sweetie." This caught Rachel off guard as she was not expecting Cuddy to give in so easily. She was expecting a full-blown argument. As a result, Rachel didn't know what to say.

"Um…you're welcome" she sputtered. "I still have a right to be angry, right?"

"At the situation, yes" Cuddy responded. "At me or House no. Listen, House and I are going to hang up posters around the neighborhood if you want to come. If not, I want you to finish unpacking your belongings. Your choice." Rachel thought about it for a moment.

"I'll stay and finish up here."

"You sure?" Rachel nodded. "Ok, we'll be back in a little while." She placed a kiss on the top of Rachel's head and left. Rachel walked over to her suitcase and was about to open it when she noticed that her cellphone screen was flashing. She picked it up and saw that she had 3 missed calls and 6 new txt messages. Rachel opened up the txts.

Hey. It's Samantha. Listen, we found Sophie wandering down our street.

We have her here. Call me as soon as you get this. Ok?

The other five txt messages said something of a similar nature. Rachel, beaming with excitement, ran out of her room and down the hallway. She heard Cuddy call out to House to hurry up. "Mommy!" Rachel called out. Cuddy immediately stopped what she was doing. "I found Sophie!"

"What do you mean you found her?" Cuddy asked as she walked over towards Rachel. "Samantha txted me. Her family found Sophie and she's at their house now. She said to call her first."

"That's fabulous!" Cuddy exclaimed. "Did you call her yet?"

"No, I wanted to tell you first" Rachel explained.

"Well, give her a call and then we'll walk over there. I'll go get her leash while you're calling" Cuddy said. Rachel quickly dialed Samantha's number. Samantha picked up after the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me, Rachel."

"Hey!" Samantha greeted. "I take it you got my messages?"

"Yep," Rachel chirped. "Is Sophie ok?"

"Yeah, but she really misses you" Samantha told her.

"Aww. Can I come and pick her up now?" Rachel asked.

"Sure. I'll just let my mom know that you're coming."

"Great thanks! See you in a few" Rachel said before hanging up. By that time, Cuddy had Sophie's leash and was waiting up at the top of the stairs.

"Ready?" she called out.

"Yep," Rachel said, running over.

"Great. Let's head out then!"


	8. Chapter 8

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel was lying awake in bed a few weeks later when she heard a banging sound. As quietly as possible, Rachel got up, tiptoed over to the door and pressed her ear up against it. "Cuddy, if you would just give me a minute to explain…"

"Explain what? Why this is the 3rd couples therapy session in a row that you've conveniently missed? We're supposed to do be going to these things together in order to help both us and Rachel? I mean, Rachel goes to all of her sessions. What is it telling her when you don't go to any of yours?"

"She doesn't have a choice in the matter. You're the one who drives her there and picks her up. Plus, if she doesn't go, she ends up back in the hospital. Me? All I have to listen to you bitch and moan all night. And believe me, an angry Cuddy can be quite the turn-on!"

"That's it! Get out!" Cuddy shouted. "I forgave you the last time because you convinced me that you actually meant well and you also promised that you'd work with me." Rachel heard another slam. "And you're not doing shit! You don't even want to get better. All your promises have been nothing but lies. You are not stepping up and being the kind of role-model that Rachel needs."

"Hey, it's not my fault the kid's screwed up!" House shouted.

"Yes, it is!" Cuddy retorted. Tears formed in Rachel's eyes. So both her parents thought she was a screw-up? Rachel realized that what Cuddy told House was right, only she forgot to include herself in the equation. Everything they had ever said about loving and supporting her were all lies. They hated her! She had heard it with her own two ears. Rachel waked back over to her bed and climbed in. She pulled the covers over her head and began to cry. If her parents didn't love her, then she would be sure not to burden them by being around; she decided to leave them both once and for all.

Rachel heard House walk down the stairs and slam the door shut behind him. This was followed by the rev of his motorcycle and him driving away. A few minutes later, Rachel heard Cuddy open her door, but she pretended to be asleep. Cuddy poked her head in and was relieved that the fighting hadn't woken Rachel up. She slowly closed the door and went into her bedroom. Rachel waited a little while and, once she thought Cuddy was asleep, she got up and packed herself a bag. Once that was done, she got together all of her money, which was about $25 in total. It wasn't much, but it was enough to help her out until she decided where she was going. Rachel opened her window and threw her bag down onto the ground. Then she sat on the window sill and jumped down, landing onto the grass. Rachel grabbed her bag, took one last look at the house and began her journey.

**SCENE 2:**

Cuddy was lying in bed, tossing and turning, when she thought she heard something. She got up, cautiously opened her door, walked out into the hallway and looked around. Everything seemed normal, so Cuddy figured that it was probably just a branch hitting her bedroom window. Just as Cuddy was about to go back into her room, however, she thought that she heard that sound again. It was coming from Rachel's room. Cuddy ran over, opened Rachel's door and turned on the light. She scanned the room and didn't see Rachel anywhere. Then Cuddy's eyes fell on the open window. Her heart skipped a beat. That must have been what she had heard, Rachel climbing out the window. Cuddy immediately ran into her room, put her shoes on, grabbed her car keys and hopped into the car. She drove slowly around the neighborhood, figuring that Rachel hadn't had enough time to go too far. After about 5 minutes her headlights fell upon a walking figure a little bit in the distance. Cuddy drove closer and recognized this mysterious figure as Rachel. Her whole body relaxed. Cuddy pulled up next to Rachel and rolled down her window. "Rachel?" Cuddy called out. Rachel's head spun around. Her eyes widened once she saw who was in the car. "Rachel, get in the car now!" Rachel was about to run, but then realized that was a stupid idea since it was impossible for her to outrun her mom's car. So she sighed in defeat and walked over. Cuddy unlocked the door as Rachel climbed into the passenger seat. She then drove away.

"Rachel, what the hell were you thinking going out at this time of night? You scared me half to death." Rachel stayed silent, not bothering to look up at Cuddy. "Answer me, Rachel! Why did you sneak out?"

"Why should you care?" Rachel asked as she turned towards Cuddy, tears falling down her face. "After all, both you and House think I'm a screw up. I was just making both of your lives better by leaving. If anything, you should be happy."

"What are you talking about?" Cuddy asked as she pulled into their driveway and put the car into park.

"I heard you and House fighting before. House said it wasn't his fault that I was a screw-up and you said that it was, never once denying the fact that I am a screw-up." Guilt washed over Cuddy as she suddenly understood.

"Rachel, sweetie, I do not think you're a screw-up and neither does House. It's just that when people get angry they sometimes say things that they don't mean. House and I both love you very much and that is the truth." Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Come on, let's go inside. I'll make you some tea and we can talk some more. Ok?" Rachel nodded and got out of the car. Cuddy followed suit. Once they were both inside, Rachel sat down at the kitchen table and Cuddy began to make a kettle of green tea. While the kettle was brewing, Cuddy sat down across from Rachel.

"Are you feeling ok?" Cuddy asked, attempting to break the silence.

"I guess," Rachel responded.

"Excuse me for saying so, but that didn't sound too convincing. So let's try this again. Are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing exciting to share." Rachel didn't want to seem like a chronic complainer when she didn't have any real problems to contend with. Both House and Cuddy dealt with people who had real problems every day at work.

"Well then, do you have anything unexciting to share?" Rachel nervously played with her hands. "Rachel? Are you sure everything's ok?"

"Is House coming back?" she suddenly blurted out. Cuddy sighed.

"I don't know. I mean, I tried everything I could to make this relationship work, but…"

"It's not your fault, it's mine" Rachel interjected.

"Why would it be your fault?"

"I can't tell you. It'll make House look bad and he didn't mean it!" Cuddy began to panic as she wondered what House could have said or done to put Rachel in this kind of state.

"Tell me. What did House do?" Rachel sighed as she thought back to three days earlier.

**SCENE 3:**

It was take your kid to work day, meaning that Rachel had the day off from school. She had the choice of going into work with either House or Cuddy. Rachel chose House because his job seemed more exciting than Cuddy's where she would be sitting at a cubicle all day, occasionally getting up to use the fax machine. Plus she got to sleep in later. Rachel woke up at 8:30 that morning and went into the kitchen. Cuddy was already gone and she didn't see House, so she figured he was still sleeping. Rachel walked over to both his and Cuddy's bedroom and knocked on the door. After the 5th knock, she finally heard a grumble followed by a "What?"

"House, you up?" Rachel called out.

"I am now" he said, getting up and opening the bedroom door. "What do you want, squirt?" he asked groggily.

"When are we leaving for work?"

"You woke me up for that?" House moaned. "Just hang out here until I wake up and then we'll be leaving 20 minutes after that."

"So 20 minutes from now, then? Ok sounds good" Rachel said as she started to walk away.

"Damn you Rachel!" House shouted after her. "Stop being such a smart-ass! No wonder your mom can't stand being around you!" Rachel stopped dead in her tracks and spun around.

"What are you talking about? Mommy loves me!" she argued back.

"She tell you that? Everybody lies, Rachel" he retorted. "Why do you think she works such long hours?"

"So she can afford to send me to Plainsboro Academy?"

"Wrong! It's because she can't stand you!" House shouted. "Think about everything you've put her through these past few years. Suicide stunts? Cutting yourself? Eating Disorders? When you were in rehab, your mom told me that she was relieved you were there because she didn't have to deal with and I quote, 'you and your drama anymore'." Rachel's bottom lip trembled and tears stung her eyes.

"No! You're lying!" Rachel said, choking on her words.

"Am I now?" House said slyly as he leaned on his cane. "When you were an infant your mom said she was unable to love you. That she couldn't form the emotional bond mothers are supposed to form with their kids. Ask Wilson! He was there when she said that." Rachel was both hurt and shocked. It was then that she began to contemplate running away…

"And tonight just re-affirmed everything" Rachel said, concluding her story. "If you guys don't want me around, I can just leave and it'll be like I never existed." Cuddy was fuming inside. _How dare House say that! What the hell was going through his mind that made him think that was even remotely ok to say?_ Cuddy sighed.

"Did he say or do anything else that day?" Cuddy asked.

"Sort of" Rachel muttered, staring at the ground.

"What happened?" Cuddy asked, dreading what the answer was going to be. Nothing, however, could have prepared her for what Rachel was about to tell her…

After that incident, both House and Rachel got ready and left for PPTH about half an hour later. House hopped on his motorcycle and handed Rachel a helmet. "Hold on tight!" he said before speeding off. Rachel felt so nervous being on that thing. In fact, Cuddy knew how terrified the motorcycle made Rachel which is why she told him not to take her on that but, rather, call Wilson or a cab. Though, Rachel knew that House wouldn't listen. He never listened to Cuddy.

Once they got into the parking garage, House pulled into a spot and turned off the motorcycle. Rachel then gave House her helmet back. "You better not be a nuisance, kid" House said as he started to walk away with Rachel following closely behind.

"I just need you to answer a few questions at some point, so I can write my report. It's due a week from today."

"And this is the sort of thing that makes you such a nuisance" House responded.

"What'd I say?" Rachel asked as they walked into the lobby. House ignored her, instead walking over to the reception desk in order to talk with someone there. Rachel saw him pointing towards her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. A couple of minutes later, a man in all white walked over to her.

"This the psych patient?" he asked House, who nodded.

"Just keep her until I pick her up tonight, which should be around 5."

"What's going on? Where are you taking me?" Rachel cried as they took her away, stuck her in a bed and began putting restraints on her. When Rachel tried to struggle free, they gave her some medication causing her to drift off into a deep slumber.

The next thing Rachel remembered was waking up. She looked over at the clock on the wall which read 5:15pm. House wasn't there like he said he would be which caused Rachel to panic. Rachel began to worry that she'd be stuck there forever and would never be able to go home again. _What did I do to deserve this?_ This thought ran through Rachel's mind as she desperately tried to come up with an answer. It wasn't until 5:45 that House finally came to pick her up.

**SCENE 4:**

"Oh my God! Rachel! Are you alright?" Rachel nodded. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? Like after I got home from work that night?"

"I didn't want you to get mad and kick him out. You two love each other and I'm the reason why you guys keep getting into fights. If I wasn't around, both of you would be happy and have your happily ever after endings." At this moment, the tea kettle inconveniently whistled. Cuddy got up, took it off of the stove and poured each of them a cup.

"Rachel, you are not a bother in the least. In fact, what you just said shows me what a sweet and considerate person you are. House, on the other hand, had no right to say or do that. I could very well sue him for that Psych hold stunt of his! In fact, maybe that would teach him a lesson." She then came back to the table and handed Rachel a cup.

"No mommy! Don't sue him!" Rachel begged. "It wasn't his fault! He hadn't taken Vicodin since dinner the day before. He was going through withdrawal and, like you said before, people say and do things they don't mean when they get angry. He didn't mean any of it! I promise!"  
"That's still no excuse!" Cuddy said. "He had no right to do that to you! Oh, and next year, you're coming to work with me. No questions about it!" Rachel forced a smile.

"That sounds fair. But please give House another chance. If you won't do it for him then do it for me. Please?" Cuddy sighed.

"Fine! One more chance! But, if he blows that, then it's over for good." Rachel smiled.

"Thanks so much, mommy! That really means a lot to me!"

"I don't know how you do it. How you can let someone do that to you and still love them unconditionally. House doesn't realize how lucky he is!"

"House isn't a bad person. He just needs help, mommy. He needs help like I needed help before I went into that in-patient program. I think he should go to one too." Cuddy shrugged her shoulders.

"I know, but he won't accept it. He won't even go to weekly outpatient therapy sessions. And I can't force him to do anything since he's over 18 and hasn't been deemed mentally incompetent. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Rachel suspiciously asked.

"What he did to you was absolutely insane. I won't sue him, but I can get a court order saying that he's incompetent. Since I'm his medical proxy, I can then force him into treatment."

"House will hate you for that!"

"Like he told me," Cuddy began, "It's better to be hated because you care instead of being hated because you don't care. House hates me anyway, right now, so I don't have anything to lose in that department."

"I should have never said anything" Rachel muttered. "Had I not told you, than he won't have to go through all that and feel betrayed by the only two people he loves. I went through that and it hurt more than you can imagine!"

"But your better now, right?" Rachel nodded. "Sometimes you have to get worse before you get better."

"I hope you're right, mommy!" Rachel said, taking a sip of her tea.

"I am" Cuddy assured her. "You love House, right?" Rachel nodded. "And for some crazy reason I still love him. Trust me, let me set up an intervention for him so he can get better." Rachel felt her stomach and chest tighten.

"I'm scared" she whispered.

"I know you are Rachel, but everything will be fine. I'll make sure of it." Rachel looked up at Cuddy with a hopeful expression on her face.

"You promise, mommy?" Cuddy nodded.

"I promise! So, anyway, did House answer any of those questions for your report?" Rachel shook her head. "First thing tomorrow, you can interview me. Sound good?" Rachel nodded. "Great! Do you need anything before I go back to bed?" Again, Rachel shook her head. Cuddy stood up and put their empty mugs in the sink. "Goodnight, Rachel!" she called out before leaving the kitchen.

"Night, mommy!"


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I know that a majority of you don't like having House act so mean towards Rachel. In fact, I was debating whether or not to post that last Ch, which is why it took so long for an update. I ultimetly decided to change directions and add a bit of a twist in this chapter. Hopefully you guys find this a bit more settling.

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel opened up her eyes and looked around. She found herself lying down in the middle of her backyard. Rachel began to panic as various questions flooded through her mind.

_What am I doing out here? How did I end up here?_ The sun was just starting to rise above the horizon, so Rachel figured it couldn't be later than 7am. Rachel tried to calm herself down while tried to pinpoint the last thing that she could remember. Last night, she was sitting on the couch watching TV with House while Cuddy was busy working on some proposals in the other room. Then she remembered the fight and telling Cuddy about what House had done to her at 'Take Your Kid to Work' day. Rachel was busy trying to sort through her thoughts when she heard the backdoor swing open.

"Rachel, what are you doing out here?" Cuddy called out. "I was looking everywhere for you." Rachel looked up at her. "Hurry up and get ready. We're leaving in half an hour."

"Huh? To where?"

"For 'Take Your Kid to Work' Day, remember?" Rachel pinched herself to makes sure that she wasn't dreaming.

"You mean that's today?"

"Yep," Cuddy responded. "So hurry up!" Rachel nodded. Had she dreamt the whole thing up? The Psych Ward incident? The fight?

"Where's House?" Rachel tentatively asked.

"In bed. Where else would he be at this hour?" Cuddy chuckled to herself.

"Um…right, ok" Rachel was utterly confused now. She didn't know what was real and what was a dream. Was this a dream or were the past few days a dream? Cuddy walked towards Rachel.

"Rachel, are you ok? You seem a little off today?" She placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again. She was still standing there in her backyard.

"I…I don't know" Rachel finally answered.

"What's wrong?" Cuddy asked, immediately placed her hand to Rachel's forehead in order to see if she had a fever. "You feel normal" Cuddy commented. "Does something hurt? Are you dizzy? What's going on?"

"I feel weird" was all Rachel said before she walked away from Cuddy and into the House. Rachel immediately ran into her room and shut the door. She then sat on her bed and tried to think of ways to tell if this was reality or a dream. Coming up blank, Rachel sighed and began to get ready.

**SCENE 2:**

Rachel was at work with Cuddy who had her making copies of some forms. The forms were each 10 pages in length and Cuddy needed 50 copies of each page, so Rachel couldn't help but to start daydreaming…

Rachel opened her eyes and found herself lying in her bed. This was getting too weird. She got up and walked into the kitchen. Cuddy was sitting there drinking a cup of coffee and reading the morning paper. She looked up and saw Rachel standing in the doorway. "Morning Rachel!"

"Morning mom" Rachel said as she tentatively entered the kitchen. "Where's House?"

"I have no idea and frankly I don't care" Cuddy curtly said, taking a sip from her coffee.

"You mean he's not here?"

"Why would he be? Don't you remember the fight we had last night?"

''Yeah, of course" Rachel said as she sat down at the table and tried to remain calm. Cuddy picked up on her uneasiness, though.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Rachel told her.

"Are you still upset about last night?" Cuddy asked. "Look, I know you want House to come back, but I can't let that happen until he's successfully completed some sort of treatment program. I'm sorry, Rachel."

"It's fine," Rachel said while she was still trying to process what exactly was going on. "I'm still kind of tired. I think I'm going to go back to bed."

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired" Rachel responded as she got up.

"Ok," Cuddy said, not too convinced that Rachel was telling the truth. "If you need anything, you know where I am." Rachel nodded and then walked away. She went into her room and climbed into her bed.

_What is going on here?_ Rachel was living two separate lives and she didn't know which one was real and which one was fake. The thought of all this was both overwhelming and scary to her.

**SCENE 3:**

"Rachel!" she heard a distant voice call. "Rachel are you ok? Rachel, look at me!" Rachel's eyes snapped open. She was sitting down in the middle of a public restroom with Cuddy hovering over her.

"Mommy?" Rachel called out in a soft voice.

"Rachel, I was calling your name for two minutes. What happened?"

"Where am I?" A look of extreme worry appeared on Cuddy's face.

"At work with me, don't you remember?"

"No!" Rachel said in a panicky voice. "That can't be. We were just sitting at home in the kitchen and…"

"Oh my God! Are you hallucinating, Rachel?" Now Cuddy began to panic. "I'm taking the rest of the day off and calling your Psychiatrist the second we get home!"

"How do I know this isn't a dream and I'm really at home dreaming all this?" Rachel looked around as she tried to answer her own question. "There's got to be a way to prove whether this is reality or a dream."

"Here's how," Cuddy began. "I'm going to take you off of your medication. If this is reality than you might experience some withdrawal symptoms, but you will stay here. If this is a dream, then you won't have to worry about going through withdrawal and will wake-up." Cuddy thought back to when House had a similar experience while he was on Vicodin. Then it came to her. Maybe he could help Rachel and show her that this was reality since he had been through it himself. Cuddy pulled out her cellphone and called House.

"What?" he said into the phone.

"I need your help, House!" Cuddy frantically said.

"No, Cuddy, I will not pick up Tampons for you at the store." Cuddy instinctively rolled her eyes.

"That's not funny, House. This is serious. I think there's something wrong with Rachel." This caught his attention.

"What's up?" he asked in a more serious tone. Cuddy began to go over everything that she knew in great detail. "And now I found her just sitting here in the middle of the restroom completely out of it. She thought she was in the kitchen with me! I don't know what to do!"

"So take her off of the meds" House told Cuddy, like it was the most obvious solution in the world.

"I don't think she'll cooperate with me if she thinks this is all a dream. She wants proof, House, and I don't know how to give that to her. You've been through this before, so you can give her that proof."

"Where is she?"

"With me?" Cuddy responded. "I'm taking the rest of the day off and bringing her home. Where are you? Working?"

"If by working you mean at work, than yes I'm working. If you mean the physical act of working…"

"Ok, I get it!" Cuddy spat out in frustration. "Can you meet me back at the house in about 45 minutes?"

"Sure. Any excuse to get off work early!" He then hung up the phone.

**SCENE 4:**

Rachel was sitting in the car, staring out the window. "Rachel! Stay with me!" Cuddy shouted. Cuddy didn't want Rachel to have the opportunity to slip out of it and she would be damned if she lost her only child to a delusion of her own mind.

"I'm fine" Rachel muttered.

"Did you drift back there again?"

"No. Not since you found me in the bathroom" Rachel told her.

"Good. House is going to meet us back at home. Ok?"

"So this is the reality where the fight never happened" Rachel reasoned aloud.

"What fight?" Cuddy asked.

"In my other reality, you and House fought and then you kicked him out. Afterwards, I tried to run away, but you found me and then…" Rachel went on to tell her mom about 'Take Your Kid to Work' day. "It was so scary mommy! If that wasn't real, than I don't know why I would think something so horrific up!"

"I don't know" Cuddy said when a thought of horror popped into her head. "This may sound crazy, but did they ever restrain you or sedate you while you were there?"

"Yeah," Rachel told Cuddy. "They told me that you had given them permission to do that. Then they'd leave me lying there for hours. The meds they gave me paralyzed me, but I was awake the whole time. The room was dark. I tried to scream, but nothing came out."

"What? I never signed anything!"

"They showed me the form you signed" Rachel explained. "Then they said that the pain I was feeling was all in my head. That I was imagining everything. They attempted hypnosis and deep brain stimulation. But they gave me sedatives first so I couldn't fight back." Tears started to fall down Rachel's face at this point. "They then said I was a hopeless case!"

"That explains it" Cuddy said, the anger evident in her voice. "They caused your hallucinations."

"But why is House the one that's restraining me in my hallucinations and not those doctors?"

"You said he called over another doctor and they did it, right?" Rachel nodded. "He was giving them permission very much like how you thought I gave permission. Just so you know, Rachel, I never approved for them to do any of that to you. Had I known, I would have pulled you right out. I am so sorry, Rachel!" Rachel sighed.

"You didn't know. Plus there's nothing you can do now."

"No, there's a lot I can do" Cuddy retorted. "And there's a lot I will do. I won't rest until you're better, Rachel. Ok?"

"Thanks," Rachel said.

"I still can't believe…how could they…" Cuddy tried to speak, but she was so upset and sickened that she couldn't get the words out. "House underwent Deep Brain Stimulation too and started having hallucinations shortly after. He's better now, though" Cuddy told her. "And you'll get better too."

"Oh, God I hope so" Rachel said as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes for the remainder of the ride.


	10. Chapter 10

**SCENE 1:**

"Those bastards!" House shouted after Cuddy told him what happened to Rachel during the inpatient program. "Those fucking bastards. I am going to drive down there and shove my cane where the sun don't shine!"

"House, getting into a fight with the hospital isn't going to accomplish a thing except maybe getting you thrown in jail" Cuddy told him. "If you truly want to help, I need you to talk with Rachel and help her get through this while I take care of all the legal stuff. Can you do that for me?"

"What's in it for me?" House slyly asked.

"Why do you have to be so obstinate about everything? I mean, come on! We both know you love Rachel!"

"Because it's more fun this way. I love annoying you."

"Well you've succeeded, so you can stop now" Cuddy said, shaking her head. "Anyway, she's in her room now. Get going!" So House headed to Rachel's room and knocked on her door. When he didn't hear a response, he barged right in.

House felt stomach acid climb up into the back of his throat. Thank God he walked in when he did. Rachel was lying in the middle of her floor having a full-fledged seizure.

"Cuddy!" House called out. "Cuddy! Get the hell in here now!" he screamed even louder, the sense of urgency evident in his voice. Cuddy came running down the hall.

"What's going on?" Cuddy asked as she reached the bedroom door.

"She's seizing" House stated. "Call 911!" Cuddy immediately pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called. Meanwhile, House kneeled down next to Rachel and placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to steady her. His thigh protested in agony, but he ignored it.

"They'll be here within ten minutes" Cuddy told House after hanging up. She too then kneeled down next to Rachel, but on the opposite side. "Rachel, sweetie. Listen to me. You're going to be just fine. I promise!" Tears were falling down Cuddy's face at this point. She was terrified that she was going to lose her only daughter. She couldn't let that happen. No! She wouldn't let that happen.

After about a minute, Rachel's tremors began to slow down and then stopped all together. Five minutes after that, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics put Rachel on a stretcher and carried her into the back. Cuddy went in after her and House followed close behind on his motorcycle. While in transit, Rachel's eyes fluttered as she slowly came to.

"What…what happened?" Rachel asked as she placed her hand on her aching forehead and attempted to sit up. Cuddy immediately looked up, a smile appearing on her face.

"Rachel, honey, you had a seizure. We're on our way to the hospital." Rachel tensed up when she heard that. "Don't worry, we're not going anywhere near the Psych Ward" Cuddy assured her. "Plus I'll be with you the entire time. I promise."

"I don't know what happened" Rachel told Cuddy. "I was sitting on my bed and suddenly I felt myself go crashing into the floor before everything went black. I can't even control my own body anymore!" Tears began to fall down her face. "I'm so scared. What if I never get better? Am I going to die? I'm not ready for…"

"Shh, calm down, Rachel" Cuddy said as she walked over and placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "We're not even at the hospital yet. Let's not make any assumptions until we hear what the doctor has to say, ok?" Rachel nodded as she wiped away her tears.

"Ok, mommy. I'll try my best to stay positive!" Cuddy smiled.

"That's all I ask!"

**SCENE 2:**

House arrived at the hospital, parked his motorcycle in a handicapped spot and sprinted into the lobby. "Where's Rachel Cuddy?" he yelled at the receptionist.

"Doctor House, you need to calm down!"

"Don't you dare fucking tell me to calm down! This is my daughter that's in the hospital. Now tell me where she is, God Damn it!"

"Doctor House, please, you really need…"

"That's it! Since you're too incompetent to do your job, I'll find her myself!" He went on the other side of the desk, pushed the woman aside and began to type something into the computer.

"Doctor House, you can't do that!" she said, but House ignored her. Once he was logged into the nurses' log, he saw that Rachel had just been assigned a bed in the ER and was still waiting to be seen by a doctor. House brushed past the woman and headed over to the ER.

"House, what are you doing here? I thought you were off today." Cameron asked him, once he had arrived there.

"Which bed is Rachel in?" he yelled at her. However, unlike the receptionist, Cameron wasn't fazed at all by his yelling.

"You mean Cuddy's daughter?"

"Our daughter!" House yelled. "Get that through that pretty little head of yours!"

"Hold on a sec. Let me check" Cameron said as she flipped through the papers on her clipboard. "She's in Level 1 of Critical Care, bed 3." House began to walk away.

"I don't even get a _thank you_" Cameron called out after him. House turned around and made eye contact with her.

"Thank you for doing the job that you're already being paid to do" House said in a sarcastic tone. He then turned around and headed over to where Rachel was.

**SCENE 3:**

Cuddy was sitting by Rachel's bedside, checking her cell, when House came strolling in. "Where is she?" Cuddy looked up.

"They took to get a CT scan done a couple of minutes ago. The scan itself should take about 15 minutes and then it'll be about another hour or so after that until we receive the results" Cuddy explained. "For now, though, they gave her some anti-seizure medication just to stop the seizures until they can get a proper diagnosis." House simply nodded and took a seat next to her. "I can't help but to think," Cuddy continued, "if you hadn't walked in when you did, she might…well, she might be dead right now. I can't lose my daughter, House." Tears began to fall down her face.

"Get a hold of yourself, Cuddy! She's here now and she's going to be just fine. So stop getting upset over what could have been!" House told her.

"I know, but I care about her so much. I can't stand the thought of losing her." House was about to respond when a doctor walked into the room.

"Are you the parents of Rachel Cuddy?"

"Yes we are" Cuddy responded.

"I just wanted to update you on your daughter's condition. I see in Rachel's records that she has recently undergone deep brain stimulation for her psychosis. Due to that, we couldn't perform the CT scan, but were able to get an X-ray. It appears that the device has shifted and that's what is causing her sudden onset of seizures."

"Wait! What device?" Cuddy sternly questioned.

"For the DBS, the doctor cut open her skull, made an incision in her brain and planted a device there in order to help manage her Bipolar Disorder." Cuddy turned white as a ghost.

"You mean that these psychos cut into her brain and stuck an electrode in there? That's it! I'm paying the 9th floor a little visit!" House got up and started to walk away when Cuddy grabbed his arm and sat him back down.

"So, what's the treatment plan?" Cuddy asked the doctor.

"The only thing we can do is surgically remove the device."

"No!" Cuddy adamantly stated. "I am not having my daughter undergo a second brain operation.

"If we don't do this and the device shifts and tears a vein or an artery, she can very well die." Cuddy took a deep breath, desperately trying to hold back tears. "When do we have to let you know by?"

"I'll bring Rachel back and then I'll give the three of you an hour to decide." The doctor then turned around and walked away.

**SCENE 4:**

"No!" Rachel said. "I don't want to go through that again!" Cuddy got up and put her hand on Rachel's shoulder.

"Rachel, I am so sorry you even had to go through that in the first place. It must have been terrifying and I can understand you not wanting to go through that again. However, if you don't get this surgery done, the doctor said that you could very well die." Cuddy's eyes started to tear up at that point. "And I don't want to lose you. Please do it!"

"I don't know" Rachel muttered. "What if something goes wrong and I never wake up?" Cuddy sighed.

"What if your device shifts further and you get a brain aneurism?"

"What's that?" Rachel asked, tilting her head like she always did when she was curious about something.

"It's where an artery in your head gets torn and you bleed into your brain and skull. It's very deadly, Rachel, and there's a much higher risk of that happening than you experiencing a complication from the surgery, even a minor one." Rachel thought for a moment.

"You sure about this?"

"Positive!" Cuddy responded. Rachel took a deep breath.

"Ok, I'll do it" she said, her voice shaky.

"Great! I'll go let the doctor know" Cuddy said, getting up and walking away. Rachel looked over to House.

"House, do you think I made the right decision?" Rachel asked him. He looked up, startled that she was asking him such a deep and personal question. He wasn't sure how to answer that, so he did what he always did when he wasn't sure what to do or say.

"Of course! This beats creepy hallucinations, seizures and exploding blood vessels in your head any day of the week . We wouldn't want your brain to turn into mush, now would we?" House joked.

"I'm serious, House!"

"Fine, you made the right decision. Happy now!" Rachel sat up and looked him straight in the eye.

"You sure about that?"

"Positive" he responded.

"Were you scared when you had to get surgery on your leg after the accident?" House felt a lump in his throat. _How did Rachel know about the accident and how much did she know?_ He thought back to Stacy and how she had unrightfully authorized the removal his thigh muscle while he was in a medically induced coma. He had never forgiven her for that. He also remembered the role Cuddy played, but wasn't about to say anything to Rachel in case she didn't know about that. The last thing he wanted to do was taint the image of her mother, especially during such a critical time.

"Well, were you?" Rachel asked again, breaking his thoughts. Before House could answer, Cuddy walked back in.

"Thank God you're here" he exclaimed. "I've got to go. See you guys later on!"

"House wait!" Cuddy called out. House stopped and turned around. "The surgery is scheduled for 3pm this afternoon and the prep starts at 1pm. It should be about 2 hours long. I hope to see you both before and after the surgery!" Cuddy said with a stern look upon her face.

"Of course, Cuddles!" House said as he quickly walked away.

**SCENE 5:**

"She asked me about my leg" House told Cuddy while Rachel was in surgery. "She asked me if I was scared about my leg surgery after the _accident_. Now how would she know about it unless you told her?" House pressed. "And exactly how much did you tell her? I want to know!" Cuddy sighed.

"She doesn't know any of the details" Cuddy assured House. "When she was eight, she found a photo of you and asked who it was. I told her that you used to work for me. She then asked about the cane and I said that you had hurt her leg. Now being the curious child that she is, she demanded to know what happened to your leg. I didn't want to say anything, but she wouldn't let the subject go. Finally I just said that you were in an accident and had to have surgery. I told her that the surgeons were able to save the leg, but that you still walked with a limp and thus needed the aid of a cane. I swear, House, that's all I said. She doesn't know about Stacy or my involvement in it or even what kind of an accident it was. For all I know, she thinks it was a car accident and…"

"Cuddy, stop talking already!" House interjected. "Do you always ramble endlessly when you feel guilty about something? Because it seems to me that either you're trying to defend yourself or you're begging for forgiveness. Either way, I don't need a novel of an answer."

"You said you wanted to know, so I told you" Cuddy mumbled as she turned her back to House. "Not everything is meant to be read in between the lines because sometimes there's nothing more to be read" Cuddy added before she sat down and buried her face in her hands. It was then that House knew that he had hurt her, really hurt her.

"Cuddy, I'm sorry!" House said as he sat down next to her. "I wasn't thinking. It just slipped out." Cuddy glanced up at him, but didn't say a word.

"That's your problem. You never think about the consequences. You just do whatever you please and leave the rest of us to clean up your damn mess. I'm tired of it, House. I have no fight left in me. I just can't do this anymore!" Her hands began to tremble. House took one hand in his and began to stroke it lightly.

"I can't think about the consequences because they're always bad and because I fail at everything I do. Ok? Then I met you and I realized that I finally did something right. But all I've ever done is ruined your life. I'm sorry."

"You know that's not true" Cuddy said, shocked by this sudden confession of his. "I'm upset with the situation, not with you. I have a short-fuse when I'm stressed. I guess our character flaws mix like oil and water" she added with a quick chuckle. "Though, you are not a failure and I want you in my life. I want you in Rachel's life. Ok?" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"You'll get tired of me and my ways" House said. "I know it. As much as I want to be with you, I know you'll be better off without me."

"Wait? Are you breaking up with me?" Cuddy asked, feeling deeply hurt.

"I don't want to"

"But…" Cuddy interjected.

"I've already screwed things up and I'm going to keep screwing things up. You like both order and discipline in your life. I fit neither label."

"House, if I wait for the ideal man to come, I'll be waiting my whole life. Yes, you've made some pretty bad mistakes, but so have I. So has Rachel. Everybody has. Ok? It's up to you, but I want you to be a permanent addition in my life."

"You really mean it?"

"I do" Cuddy responded with a smile. House leaned in and gave Cuddy a kiss. She leaned in, deepening the kiss. Finally, they pulled apart. Not even two minutes after sitting down, a doctor came rushing out of the OR.

"Dr. House, Dr. Cuddy, I need to speak with you for a moment."

"What's going on?" Cuddy asked, quickly standing up and walking over to the doctor.

"I'm afraid there's been a complication."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Sorry for taking so long to update. I have Carpel Tunnel, so I can't do a lot of typing at any one time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to leave reviews!

**SCENE 1:**

"What happened? What kind of complication?" Cuddy asked as she immediately got up and rushed over to the doctor.

"I'm sorry for your loss" was all he said before he walked away. Cuddy felt her stomach tighten and bile climb up into the back of her throat. Everything felt surreal.

"She's dead!" Cuddy shouted as she ran after him. "What happened?" he kept walking, acting as if Cuddy wasn't there. "Hey! Wait! Answer me!" Suddenly he disappeared, as if he had evaporated into thin air. Getting more and more nervous by the second, Cuddy slowly turned around and found that the previously crowded hallway was now empty. All the doors were closed except for the one at the very end of the hallway.

"Mommy! Help me!" Rachel's voice echoed off the walls of the hallway. "They're killing me, mommy! Make them stop!" It seemed as if her voice was coming through the sole open door all the way at the other end of this long corridor. Cuddy began to run down the hallway, but it seemed that the further she ran, the longer the hallway got.

"Save me mommy!" she heard Rachel cry out once more.

"I'm coming, baby!" Cuddy shouted into the empty air. "I'm coming"…

"Cuddy! Wake-up!" a distant voice called out. Cuddy's eyes snapped open. She was breathing heavily and was drenched in a layer of cold sweat.

"Rachel!" she cried out. "I have to get to her!"

"Relax, Cuddy. It was just a bad dream. She's fine. The doctor is wheeling her into the recovery room now and we should be able to see her in a few minutes."

"So, there was no complication then?" Cuddy clarified. House shook his head.

"Nothing interesting here except, of course, watching the former Dean of Medicine have a lively nightmare in the middle of the waiting area at 3 in the afternoon." Cuddy shot him a look. "In front of an audience of 20 people, might I add!" Cuddy looked up and saw a few people giving her strange looks.

"Ahem!" Cuddy glared right back at them with narrowed eyes. They all quickly dissipated and were out of sight a few seconds later. "God! The nerve of some people. It's as if they have never seen a parent who was worried sick about their child. I mean, seriously…"

"Take it easy. They're gone now and, even so, who cares what they think? They're a bunch of incompetent morons who would be lost if put in your situation" House assured her. "Believe me, I've seen enough of them come into the clinic all panicked while telling me that their child has a severe case of Pneumonia when all the kid has is a simple chest cold. Idiots!" he muttered under his breath. Cuddy cracked a smile.

"How long ago was Rachel wheeled into recovery?"

"About 5 minutes ago."

"So we should be able to see her in a bit, then." House simply nodded in acknowledgement. "Good!" Cuddy sighed as she leaned back into her chair.

**SCENE 2:**

Rachel woke up and slowly opened her eyes, but quickly had to close them again as the light was blinding. She steadied her breathing and tried to relax while she became re-oriented with her surroundings. She began to hear distant voices that soon became clearer.

"Her vitals look good" Rachel heard House say.

"Do you think she's in a lot of pain?" Cuddy asked. "Maybe I should ask the nurse to up her morphine until she's fully lucid and functional.

"She's fine, Cuddy!" House moaned. "Stop being such a worry-wart." Rachel couldn't help but smile to herself. She had missed their playful bantering while she was in her hallucinatory state. Rachel attempted once more to open her eyes. The lights were still very bright, but her eyes adjusted within a few seconds. Rachel opened her mouth and tried to speak, but all that came out was a throaty-sounding cough.

"Rachel?" Cuddy called out as she got up and ran to her daughter's bedside. Rachel smiled back and began to sit up, but winced in pain as she did so. "Rachel, just lie down and relax. You need to regain your strength, ok?"

"Ok," Rachel said, her voice sounding a bit hoarse. "Mommy, what's wrong with my voice?"

"Nothing. It'll return back to normal once the anesthesia gets out of your system" Cuddy assured her. "Also, I just wanted to let you know that a neurologist will be coming in to evaluate you tomorrow morning in order to make sure there is no kind of brain or neurological damage caused by either the device or the surgery. But for now, your job is to rest and get yourself better. Got that?" Rachel nodded. "Good!" Cuddy said. "Do you need anything?"

"Water, please?" Cuddy nodded and left the room. A couple of minutes later, she returned with a paper cup filled with water. She handed to Rachel who grabbed it gratefully.

"Thanks," Rachel responded, drinking the entire thing in one gulp. She placed the now empty cup on the nightstand next to her.

"Are you in pain?" Cuddy worriedly asked her.

"I'm a little sore," Rachel responded. "But it's not too bad." Cuddy smiled.

"If it gets really bad let either me or House know so we can tell the nurse to up your pain meds, ok?" Rachel nodded. Cuddy was about to go sit down when her phone began to vibrate.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, I have to take this" she said as she picked up the phone and walked out of the room.

"Perfect timing as always" House said.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked.

"I told Wilson to call Cuddy up now, so I could prepare for take two." Rachel tilted her head to the side. Seeing her confusion, House got up and walked over to her bedside. "So I could do this!" he clarified as he pulled out a ring.

"Oh my God!" Rachel squealed. "You're going to ask her to…"

"Pipe down! Cuddy's probably right outside and I don't want to spoil the surprise. "Here slip this into your ponytail holder.

"But why?" Rachel asked.

"I'm having Wilson tell Cuddy that the doctor found a mass in the back of your head and they decided to consult him with the matter. He's then going to tell her to check the back of your head in order to examine said mass. Now slip the ring in there, but with the stone sticking out. Got it?"

"Of course," Rachel responded as she did what she was told.

**SCENE 3:**

Cuddy came back into the room with tears in her eyes. "Mommy! What's wrong?" Rachel asked. Cuddy wiped away her tears and tried to slow her breathing down.

"Rachel, this may sound weird, but I need you to bend your neck forward so I can check the back of your head. Ok?"

"Sure," Rachel said, trying to contain her excitement while pretending to be as worried and confused as possible. She bent her neck forward and Cuddy started to meticulously examine every inch of Rachel's hair and scalp. Not even five seconds later did Cuddy spot the ring and pull it out. Before she had a chance to say anything, however, House knelt down on one knee and began to speak.

"Lisa Cuddy, will you be crazy enough to marry me and waste the rest of your life with me?" Cuddy was shocked both by the proposal and how House had chosen to propose. He never did cease to amaze her; she had to give him that.

"Yes! Of course!" Cuddy exclaimed as she ran over and hugged him. "You and Wilson had me scared to death there for a few minutes" she said as she pulled away and looked at him. "You guys probably knocked 2 years off my life!" she joked.

"Well, get used to it because this is the way things are going to be from now on." Cuddy smirked.

"So what is it with you and proposing in hospitals?" she teased. "Let me guess, you saw it on General Hospital?"

"Yes," House responded.

"Really?"

"No. It was our conversation from before" House explained. "After you broke our last engagement off, I always made sure to keep the engagement ring on me because I knew that one day we'd get back together."

"And you were right!" Cuddy responded.

"Yes I was!" They both leaned in and engaged in a sweet passionate kiss. After they broke away, Cuddy looked over at Rachel.

"And just how long were you in on this little secret?" she asked.

"Not long. House only told me after you had gone out to talk with Wilson on the phone". Cuddy smiled and nodded.

"You two aren't keeping any other secrets from me, are you?" Both House and Rachel shook their heads. "You better not be! Anyway, on a different topic, how about we all have a celebration once you get out of here, Rachel? A double celebration actually for both our engagement and your recovery." Rachel smiled at that.

"Yeah, that sounds great! What kind of celebration?"

"I was thinking a party. You can invite your friends and House can invite his…um…friend."

"And just how many friends do you have, Cuddy?" House shot back.

"More than you" she said with a smirk on her face. "Anyway, I can't even tell you guys how happy I am with how everything has turned out today."

"And this is just the beginning, Cuddles!" House proudly announced.

"There's more?"

"Of course. You're going to be spending the rest of your life with me. Of course there's going to be…"

"No, I mean tonight. No more surprises for tonight, right?"

"Guess this isn't the best time to tell you about my secret affair with Wilson, huh?" Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, House!" she said as she playfully slapped him.

"You know you love it," House teased. "Otherwise you wouldn't have said _yes_! Admit it, Cuddy."

"I love you, not your antics" Cuddy responded.

"But Cuttlekins, I am my antics! I can't change who I am" he joked.

"No, but you can suppress it" Cuddy shot back.

"Remember what happened the last time you made me surpress my true self. I'll remind you; my car plus your house!" Cuddy shot him a look.

"I'm glad you think that was all some big…"

"Relax, Cuddy. I didn't mean it like that! I was just trying to lighten up the mood a little."

"You better have been" she warned as she snuggled into him.

"Seriously, Cuddy. You need to learn how to relax!"

"And you have to learn that there is a time and a place for everything. So I guess we've both got stuff to work on. Anyway, I'm heading down to the cafeteria. Do either of you want anything?"

"The usual" House told her.

"No, I'm good" Rachel responded.

"Ok, then, be back in a few. No more planning any pranks" she added half-jokingly before leaving.

**SCENE 4:**

House was headed towards his office the following morning when he was stopped by Cameron. "Congratulations on your engagement, House! I hope things work out for you two this time around."

"Yeah yeah yeah. Don't hold your breath" he muttered.

"Hey! I'm just trying to be nice here. You don't have to be so rude!"

"And yet I can be, so I am!" House shot back. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be right now?"

"Cuddy sent me up here to give you a few case files to look through" Cameron explained as she handed him a pile of folders. "And she says you actually have to pick one out this time. Not pass it on to Wilson like you did the last time!"

"Fine mom!" House groaned. "Let's see what we've got here" House said as he began to look through the case files. "Thyroid Storm. Cushings Disease. Menieres Disease" he rattled off as he began handing her back each of the files. "Diabetic Neuropathy and, hmm…this one seems interesting. I'll take it!" He handed the remaining files back to Cameron and continued to his office. His team was sitting around the conference table: Chase doing a crossword puzzle, Taub texting someone and Adams reading a magazine.

"Ok, ducklings, new case. 21 year old female presenting with fatigue, blood in sputum, shortness of breath and she vomits anything she eats. Go!"

"Pneumonia" Taub suggested.

"That was the first thing the ER checked for, moron! Next."

"Acute mountain sickness" Adams suggested.

"That would fit if the patient had ever been oh, I don't know, in the mountains."

"Maybe they went there on vacation recently."

"What do you think pretty boy?" House said, looking straight at Chase who simply rolled his eyes.

"Lung cancer fits."

"Chase, go biopsy the lung. Adams go get a detailed history and find out every place they visited in the past year. And, Taub, go do my clinic duty" he said giving Taub a spare nametag of his. Taub sighed, but took the nametag anyway. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got some pressing business to attend to" House said as he strolled past them and out the door.

**SCENE 5:**

"Good morning, Cuddles" House greeted as he strolled right into Rachel's hospital room. Cuddy looked up from the book that she was reading. "So what's the verdict on the kid?"

"Neurological exam was pretty much normal, except for some difficulty with eye-hand coordination. They're keeping her here one more night and then the neurologist says he wants her to go to Physical Therapy 2-3 times a week for 3 months" Cuddy explained.

"So the kid isn't going to be good in sports. Big deal!" House responded with a roll of the eyes.

"She never had this problem before the…"

"Guys! I'm right here" Rachel moaned. "If you're going to keep referring to me in the 3rd person, than at least have the decency to do it somewhere that I'm not within ear range." Both House and Cuddy looked over at her.

"Rachel, watch that tone of yours" Cuddy chided. "But ok. We'll stop if it bothers you this much."

"Thank you!" Rachel said with an exasperated sigh.

"You're welcome, but this is a one-time thing seeing that House and I are allowed to have a conversation of our choosing with you around."

"Ok, whatever. So, on a different topic, do you guys have a wedding date yet?" Cuddy shook her head.

"No, we haven't picked one yet. We've both had a lot on our plates recently. Once things calm down, we'll figure all the logistics out and let you know" Cuddy explained.

"Alrighty! Cool! I'm just so happy you guys are back together" Rachel said as she put her head down and closed her eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel was sitting in Biology, staring out the window, as she waited for class to start. She was in mid-daydream when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Rachel turned around and saw Annabell with her new group of followers hovering over her.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Schitzo-freak. I'm surprised they let you back in here. You know my mom is busy contacting the head dean to try and get you thrown out because she said that she doesn't want me around a deranged psychopath!" Rachel glared at Annabell. "You know, it's because of charity cases like you that everything is so damn strict around here."

"Hey! Leave her alone, bitch!" a guy from across the room said. Annabell turned around and faced him.

"Excuse me?" She placed her hand on her hip and glared at him. "Who do you think you are talking to me like that?"

"Who do you think YOU are to talk to HER like that?" the guy shot back. Annabell said nothing. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Why don't you and your little poser buddies go back to sticking your noses into a bunch of stupid magazines rather than into someone else's business!" Annabell shot him a look but then sat down without another word. Rachel looked up at him and smiled.

"Thanks!" she mouthed. He nodded and then went back to what he was doing.

After class let out, Rachel headed towards her locker when that same guy caught up to her. "Hey!" he said.

"Hey. Thanks so much for sticking up for me in there!"

"No problem. But it would be kind of nice to know the name of the girl that I'm sticking up for" he said half-jokingly.

"Oh duh! Sorry. I'm Rachel. And you are?"

"Kyle" he responded.

"Nice to meet you!"

"You too. Where you headed?" he asked her.

"Home" Rachel said. "How about you?"

"Same" he said. "Hey, do you need a ride home? My brother drives and I don't think he'd mind dropping you off." Rachel was taken aback by this. Did this guy have a crush on her or was she reading too much into things?

"Rachel?" he said, breaking her train of thought.

"Oh, right! Um…yeah, that would be great. I just have to go to my locker real quick and then I'll meet you right by the entrance."

"Ok, cool" he said, before turning around and walking away.

**SCENE 2:**

Cuddy had just gotten home from work and was getting out of her car when she saw a blue Honda Civic pull up in front of her house. She saw Rachel get out of the back of the car.

"Thanks again for the ride. I'll see you tomorrow in Bio!"

"Have fun finishing that lab" Kyle sarcastically said. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Ahem!" Rachel spun around and saw Cuddy standing there.

"Oh, hey mom! You're home early!"

"Yep," was all she said as she walked towards the car. Upon seeing this, Kyle stepped out from the passenger's side.

"Hi, I'm Kyle Manning" he said extending his hand out which Cuddy immediately shook. "Rachel and I are in class together and she needed a ride and I offered to drive her home. Well, actually, I volunteered my brother since I don't even have my permit yet, but you get the idea! Right?" Cuddy nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks for bringing her home. That was a very nice thing to do."

"Oh it was no problem!" He turned around and stuck his head through the open car window. "Right, Mike? No problem dropping her off?"

"No. None at all" his brother said.

"Well, I'll let you two get going, but it was a pleasure meeting you both" Cuddy told them.

"Same here" Kyle said before getting into the car and waving goodbye. A minute later they drove away and were gone. Cuddy turned to look at Rachel.

"So," she said with a big smile on her face. "He seems nice and he looks kind of cute!"

"Mom!" Rachel moaned as they walked inside the house. "You are not allowed to say things like that about guys who go to my school. It's just plain weird."

"So, when are you going to ask him out?" Cuddy pressed.

"Oh my God. I am so leaving!" Rachel exclaimed as she threw up her hands and walked into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Cuddy quietly chuckled to herself. Rachel was growing up and as happy as she was to see her daughter beginning to show a real interest in guys, she couldn't help but to miss the little five-year-old who loved dressing up as a Princess and having fake tea parties with her dolls. _They grow up real fast_, Cuddy thought to herself. _Sometimes too fast!_

**SCENE 3:**

"So, what's this about you having a new boyfriend?" House asked Rachel that night at dinner.

"I don't have a boyfriend!"

"Then who is this Kyle guy that your mom was blabbing about earlier?"

"She told you about him? Seriously! It's no big deal" Rachel moaned.

"Really? Because normally when people try to emphasize how 'not big of a deal' something is, they're really trying to cover up just how much of a 'big deal' it truly is. Take Wilson for example. He tried to claim that it wasn't a big deal that he was suddenly eating super healthy and started going to the gym. A week later, the little sucker was dating Emily." House smirked at the thought of Emily becoming the 5th Mrs. Wilson, but decided to keep his mouth shut about that, for now.

"This is different!" Rachel protested.

"Mark my words, little one. Mark my words." Rachel simply rolled her eyes and continued eating.

"Since I can see this conversation isn't going anywhere, I'm going to take my dinner into the living room and continue watching the _General Hospital_ marathon." House got up and grabbed his plate.

"But mommy hates it when you eat in the living room. She says that you eat like a pig and that she's the one who ends up having to clean your mess up."

"Is that what she says now? Well, I'll just tell her that if she's a bitch about it now then I won't let her be a bitch in bed."

"What are you talking…oh my God! You did not just say that" Rachel said in utter disbelief. "That's it! I've officially lost my appetite" she said as she headed towards her room.

"What's going on out here?" Cuddy said, stepping out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Your fiancée's being a disgusting pig. That's what!" Rachel said as she walked into her room and shut the door.

"What was that all about?" Cuddy asked.

"I haven't the faintest idea" House responded as he sat down on the couch, with his plate of food, and turned on the TV. Cuddy walked over and turned the TV off. "Hey! I was watching that" he said with a mouthful of food.

"You know the rules! No eating in the living room. And, for God's sake, close your mouth while you're chewing your food." House smirked.

"Like I told Rachel, if you're going to act like a bitch now then I won't let you act one in bed." Cuddy's eyes widened.

"You told her that! House, you DO NOT talk about our sex life with anyone, especially Rachel. Got it?" House shrugged her shoulders. Cuddy shook her head in disbelief. "I'm going to go and attempt to console our daughter. This mess better be cleaned up by the time I get back."

"Oh, but Cuddles, this isn't going to be the only mess that I'm…"

"Shut it, House!" Cuddy said, before turning around and heading towards Rachel's room.

**SCENE 4:**

A few weeks later, Rachel looked out her bedroom window and saw that it was the first snow fall of the season. There wasn't much, but she always found the first snowfall to be exciting. Rachel threw on her school uniform, put on her boots and was out the door.

"Rachel we go through this every year!" Cuddy shouted as she was getting into her car. "If it's cold enough for there to be snow, then it's cold enough for you to need a jacket." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Why do I need to wear a jacket when I'm going to be sitting in a heated building all day?"

"You're not in a heated building when you're walking to and from the bus stop and while waiting for the bus to arrive". Cuddy glanced down at her watch. Look, I'm going to be late. Just go back inside and put one on. Ok?"

"Fine!" Rachel moaned as she went back inside and did as she was told. She came back out two minutes later to find Cuddy standing outside by her car, cursing under her breath.

"What happened?" Rachel asked as she walked over to where her mom was standing.

"My car battery died" she said, not bothering to look up. Cuddy began rummaging through her purse. "Where the hell is my phone?" she muttered under her breath. "It's always when I need something that I can't seem to find it."

"Here, use mine" Rachel said as she took her phone out of her purse and handed it to her mom.

"Thank you, Rachel!" she said, as she sighed a breath of relief. "Hello, Amy? It's Lisa. Listen, I'm going to be a little late to work because my car battery died. Ok, great! Thank you for understanding. Bye now!" She then dialed another number. "Wilson? Hi, it's Lisa. I need to ask you a huge favor. My car battery died and…great! Thanks a lot! See you in a few. Bye now." Cuddy handed Rachel her phone back. "Thanks for letting me use this."

"No problem" Rachel told her. "You going to be ok?"

"Oh, of course! Don't worry about me, Rachel. You better get going so you don't miss the bus. Have a great day!"

"Thanks you too!" Rachel said, heading towards the bus stop.

**SCENE 5:**

Rachel was at her locker getting her books when Kyle came walking over. "Hey, you busy after school today?" Rachel shook her head.

"No, why?"

"I'm having some friends over at my place. You should come!"

"Yeah, I'd love to!" Rachel answered both a little too quickly and enthusiastically. She bit her lip hoping to dear God that Kyle didn't pick up on that. The last thing she wanted was to seem desperate.

"Cool. Meet me in the parking lot after school?"

"Yeah, definetly!" Rachel responded.

"Well, I've got to go to class. See you in Bio!"

"Ok, bye!" After he was gone, Rachel smiled to herself. Even though other people were going to be there, she still felt like this was going to be a date. Rachel could barely concentrate in any of her classes for the rest of the day. Her mind kept drifting to that afternoon. What was his house like? Was it big? Even more important, what were they going to do once they were there? Rachel had butterflies in her stomach as she considered the possibility of this turning into an official relationship; her first relationship ever! Rachel knew she was probably getting ahead of herself here, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted this to work out so badly. So when the final bell rang, Rachel couldn't help but to jump out of her seat and rush outside.

"Rachel!" she heard a voice call. Rachel spun around and saw Kyle waving from across the parking lot. She waved back and made her way across.

"Hey!" Rachel said once she got there. "Is your brother driving us to your place?" He shook his head.

"No, I only live 3 blocks away from here, so we're going to walk if that's ok with you."

"Yeah, of course! You lead the way!" So they started walking.

"How'd you do on the Bio quiz?" Kyle asked her.

"Ok. I got an 85 on it. How about you?"

"92" he told her.

"Wow! That's really good. You a Science wiz or something?" He laughed.

"Not really. I don't even pay attention half the time in that class. It's so boring!"

"Why aren't you in AP then?" Rachel asked him.

"I missed the minimum score on the qualifying exam by only 1 point. Can you believe it?"

"Damn! That sucks!" Rachel said. "You taking any AP classes this year?"

"Yeah, AP English and AP math. How about you?"

"Just AP History."

"That's still good!" he said. "Well, here's my house." It was a moderately sized brown two story split ranch.

"Nice house!" Rachel commented.

"Thanks!" he said as he took his key out. They walked up his driveway and he unlocked the front door. "Mike! You home?" Kyle called out. "Mike?"

"Upstairs. Our room!" he shouted. Kyle walked up the stairs and led Rachel to his room. He opened the door and walked in, followed by Rachel. Mike was lying on his bed staring up at the celing. He looked over when he heard the pair come in.

"Hey, Rachel, what's up?" Mike asked.

"Not much! You?" she responded.

"Nothing much really" Kyle walked over to his bed and sat down on it.

"Hey, man, you got the stuff?" Kyle asked Mike who nodded.

"Yeah, it's in the top drawer!" Kyle got up and walked over to the dresser.

"What stuff?" Rachel asked.

"This," Kyle said as he held up a small baggie.

"Wait…is that…is that Weed?" Rachel asked, her heart beginning to pound.

"Yeah, you ever try it?" Rachel tentativly shook her head.

"Well, you're in for a real treat then. This is the good stuff." Rachel began to feel queasy. Here she was in the same room as an illegial substance. She was so worried about Cuddy and House finding out because she didn't want to disappoint them.

"On second thought, maybe I should go" Rachel said, her anxiety building to overwhelming levels.

"No stay! It'll help you relax. Trust me" Kyle told her.

"My parents would kill me if they ever found out that I smoked Weed!"

"Relax! We're not going to tell anyone on you" Mike reassured. "You're parents aren't going to find out. I mean, it's not like you're doing it at your house and you can always shower afterwards to get rid of the smell."

"I don't know!" Rachel said, staring at the ground.

"Come on! Just about everyone in school has tried it at least once. It's not really that big of a deal!" Kyle tried to explain. Rachel glanced over at the door and took a step towards it.

"If it's not a big deal, than why do you want me to try it so bad?" Rachel shot back. Before Kyle or Mike had a chance to respond, Rachel spoke again. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Fine, your loss" Kyle said. "Let people continue to control your life. Let your parents keep you from having a good time. Let Annabell and her friends chew you up and spit you out like a worthless piece of crap. But you go right ahead and walk on out that door and miss out on the opportunity of your life. After all, you only live once." Rachel took a deep breath. On one hand, she was so desperate to fit in but, on the other hand, she thought of when she had messed up in the past and how much it had hurt both Cuddy and House. She couldn't forget the look Cuddy's face when she told her that she had pawned her earrings or House's face when he found out about her eating disorder. She couldn't do that to them again.

"You know what, I'll take the loss. I want to live my life right the first time around" Rachel said as she opened the door and let herself out.


	13. Chapter 13

**SCENE 1:**

Rachel had recently taken up a bunch of extra-curricular activities in the hopes of distracting herself from the feelings of loneliness and hopelessness that had recently begun to consume her. She now was a part of her school's Student Government as their Treasurer, Community Service Club, Business Club and Literary Magazine as an assistant editor. She was also delving more into her schoolwork in an attempt to get straight A's; that way she could feel like she was finally the best at something. After all, House was the best Diagnostician in the country and Cuddy had achieved a major milestone by becoming the second female and the youngest Dean of Medicine ever. Rachel knew she couldn't compete with that and it made her feel inferior. Tears stung her eyes as she thought about this. She took a deep breath and wiped them away with the back of her hand as she tried to focus on her homework. A few minutes later, Rachel heard a soft knock at her door.

"Come in" Rachel called out. The door opened and Cuddy walked in.

"Rachel, it's almost midnight. What are you still doing up?"

"I have to finish a history paper and, after that, I have to study for my Bio test tomorrow."

"You haven't studied for that yet? What have you been doing all night?"

"I had a Student Council meeting today and then stayed for a couple of hours afterwards to work on our next fundraiser. Then, since I missed the bus, I had to walk home and didn't get back until around 5pm. Then I had dinner and proceeded to start on my homework. That's what I've been doing all night."

"You know, Rachel, life isn't all fun and games. Sure extra-curriculars are great and all, but there comes a point when enough is enough! And now it's starting to interfere with your schoolwork. So, no more until you get all caught up, understand?"

"I am caught up! I'm making straight A's! In fact, I am more than caught up. I'm ahead of the game." Rachel solemnly looked down at the ground. "I thought you'd finally be proud of me and all you've done is found new ways to criticize me. Thanks so much for the self-esteem boost, mom" she added sarcastically. Cuddy walked over and sat down on the bed next to Rachel.

"Is that why you're doing all this? Because you think you're not good enough?" Rachel nodded.

"Well, you're wrong" Cuddy said very matter-o-factly. "Listen, get some sleep and we'll talk more tomorrow. Ok?"

"But what about my paper and test for tomorrow?"

"Getting a couple of imperfect scores isn't the end of the world. As important as grades are, they're not everything. Now go to sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow. Got it?"

"Ok" Rachel said, getting up to put everything away. She got back into bed and turned off her lamp. "Night mom!"

"Night" Cuddy said, getting up from Rachel's bed and walking out the door.

**SCENE 2:**

House was sitting at his desk, tossing his oversized tennis ball into the air when Forman walked in. "House! Clinic! Now!"

"Yes, black Cuddy" House sarcastically shot back. Forman rolled his eyes in response. "I'll page Cameron now and tell her to do it for me" he added.

"No, you're going to do it. Even if I have to follow you around the whole time" Forman adamantly stated.

"Yeah, you're going to follow me around all day. I mean, it's not like you're too busy running an entire hospital or anything like that." Forman smirked.

"Just get down there, House." At that moment, House's cellphone rang.

"Saved by the bell" House said as he took it out and answered. Forman shook his head and then left. "Hey, Cuddles! Thanks for saving me from the evil wraths of Clinic Duty."

"House! This isn't a pleasure call" she said in an exasperated tone.

"Sex call?" Cuddy ignored that petty comment and went on to explain her reason for calling.

"I got home early today to check-up on Rachel and she never came home. I tried calling her cell, drove up to her school and even went to her friend Samantha's house to see if she knew anything. I have no idea where she is. She's not with you, is she?"

"Nope! Haven't seen the kid since this morning, when she left for school."

"Did she say anything at all? About going somewhere after school? Or just anything?"

"No. She barely said 'Good morning' to me. In fact she kept falling asleep at the table while eating breakfast and had to walk to school since she missed the bus."

"Yeah, she was up pretty late last night finishing her homework. Listen, if you hear anything, please call me!"

"Yeah, ok" House said.

"I'm going to drive around and look for her some more, so call me on my cell."

"Ok. Good luck with that!" House said before hanging up. He leaned back in his chair feeling like he had missed something very important this morning. Other than her seeming really tired and flustered there was nothing out of the ordinary. Then something hit him! He wasn't any closer to finding Rachel, but he had just solved his most recent case. The patient had stress-induced Cataplexy. House paged the rest of the team in order to tell them this new found diagnosis.

**SCENE 3:**

Cameron was busily working in the ER when a gurney came rushing through and the patient was assigned to a Bay. One of the paramedics walked over to her. "We got a Jane Doe. Aged somewhere between 11 and 16. A pedestrian found her collapsed on a sidewalk about 15 minutes from here. She's been unconscious the whole time."

"How are her stats?" Cameron asked the paramedic.

"She has a fever of 102.1, but everything else is normal."

"So, it's most likely an infection" Cameron thought aloud. "Where is she now?"

"Bay 5" the Paramedic told her. Cameron nodded and headed over there. She pulled open the curtain and walked over in order to examine the mystery girl. Cameron was taken aback by what she saw.

**SCENE 4:**

Cuddy had just arrived home, after driving around searching for Rachel for an hour and a half. She sat down and buried her face in her hands. Her eyelids felt like sandpaper and she let out an exasperated sigh. Where could Rachel possibly be? Was she hurt? Cuddy tried not to panic, but she couldn't help herself. Tears fell down her face and her bottom lip trembled. This was not the Lisa Cuddy that one would see every day.

A few minutes after arriving home, the phone rang. Cuddy jumped out of her chair and rushed over to grab it. "Hello?"

"Lisa, its Allison. Listen, Rachel just came into the ER and…"

"Oh my God! Is she ok? What happened?"

"She's unconscious and has a fever, but everything else is stable. I just started her on broad-spectrum antibiotics and took a blood sample in order to test for different kinds of infection."

"I'll be right there!" Cuddy immediately hung up the phone and grabbed her purse. She rushed over to the hospital and ran straight into the ER where she saw Cameron standing by the Nurses' Station. "Allison, where is she?" Cuddy asked, sounding very out of breath. Cameron looked up.

"Bay 5" she answered. "Just let me finish filling out this chart and I'll walk you over there."

"I think you're forgetting that I use to run this hospital" Cuddy said in a bit of a snarky tone as she turned around and headed over to where Rachel was. Cuddy pulled back the curtain and walked over to Rachel's bedside. "Sweetie, hi!" Cuddy said as she pushed a piece of hair away from Rachel's face. "Don't worry. Whatever this is, you'll get over it!" Cuddy sat down at the chair by Rachel's bedside, took out her cellphone and texted House in order to let him know what was going on. After she sent the message, Cuddy leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes…

Cuddy awoke with a jolt! Her eyes snapped open and she sat up as everything came into focus. She looked up and saw that Cameron was standing in front of her. "Lisa? Good, you're awake! I got the results back" Cameron said.

"And?"

"Everything came back negative. The results are showing she doesn't have an infection, which she obviously does because of the fever. I want to admit her" Cameron stated. Cuddy glanced over at Rachel and looked back up at Cameron.

"Fine," she said after a moments' pause. "Give me the paperwork." Cameron nodded and left the room. A couple of minutes she returned with a clipboard and some forms. Cuddy grabbed the pen from the top of the clipboard and began to fill everything out. When she was done, she gave it back to Cameron who took it.

"I'm just going to process this and check for an available room."

"Ok," Cuddy said, the fear evident in her voice.

"Don't worry, Lisa. She's going to be just fine. We'll take good care of her." Cuddy forced a smile.

"I'll be back in a few" Cameron told her before she left.

**SCENE 5:**

House was sitting in his office, playing 'Angry Birds', when he received a txt from Cuddy.

_In ER now. Rachel collapsed._

_She is unconscious w/a fever._

_Don't know what's wrong yet._

House immediately got up and rushed towards the elevator. He bumped into Cameron on the way there. "House, great! There you are. Listen, I need to talk to you about something."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait until…"

"It's about Rachel" Cameron quickly said. House stopped and turned around. He leaned on his cane as he waited for her to continue. "We tested her for common infections and all the tests came back negative. However, during the routine tox screen, she was found with high levels of Cocaine in her system. An overdose would explain all of her symptoms."

"Does Cuddy know?"

"Not yet. I wasn't sure whether you wanted to tell her or have me tell her."

"Are you sure you have the right lab results? Rachel wouldn't do something stupid like that."

"She's had issues in the past with abusing prescription drugs" Cameron pointed out. "Maybe she's escalated to street drugs now." House was about to shoot down that response when his cellphone rang.

"What do you want?"

"Hello to you too, House" Cuddy sarcastically shot back. "I wanted to let you know that Rachel just woke up."

"Great! Nice talking to you. Bye." He quickly hung up before Cuddy had a chance to respond. He then looked up at Cameron. "That was Cuddy. The kid's awake."

"I think I should talk to Cuddy and you should talk to Rachel" Cameron suggested. "Ask her where she got the drugs; that way we can check whether or not it was laced." House nodded and pressed the elevator call button. When it got there both he and Cameron got in and rode it down to the first floor. Cameron led the way to the ER with House trailing close behind. As they passed by the nurses' station, House briefly stopped and grabbed a lollypop from a jar on the desk.

"Dr. House, you do realize these are for the patients not the doctors" one of the nurses said.

"You do realize that I don't care, right?" he shot back before catching up with Cameron. A minute later, they both arrived at where Rachel and Cuddy were. Cameron walked in first.

"Hi, Rachel. How are you feeling?" Cameron asked in a concerned tone.

"A little dizzy, but ok" Rachel responded.

"Rachel, do you remember what happened?" Rachel nodded. "Can you tell me?"

"I was walking home from school. I was kind of dizzy and tired and the next thing I know, I'm here."

"You collapsed, Rachel" Cameron explained. "I just…"

"Enough of this beating around the bush" House said, pushing his way past Cameron. "Cuddy, go outside and talk with Cameron while I stay in here and talk with the kid."

"May I ask what this is about?" Cuddy asked, standing up and placing her hand on her hip.

"No, you may not" House shot back. "Now go outside with Cameron and do whatever it is you females do when you get together."

"House, this is serious!" Cameron moaned. She turned towards Cuddy. "Lisa, can you please step outside with me for a moment" Cameron pleaded.

"Not until I know what's going on. Rachel is still a minor; therefore I have full access to her medical records" she tersely stated.

"Yes, but…" Cameron started to say when Cuddy interrupted her.

"I think you two are forgetting that I am an attorney in patient advocacy rights. I have a legal right to know what's going on! I don't care who it is, but one of you better tell me what the hell is going on here!" Her eyes narrowed and became sharp, very much like daggers. Cameron took a deep breath.

"We ran some blood tests on Rachel" she began. "One of the tests was a routine tox screen. Rachel…well, she tested positive for Cocaine. Her levels were dangerously high." She glanced up nervously at Cuddy, whose expression had changed from anger to shock and back to anger again. "A cocaine overdose would explain all of her symptoms." Cuddy placed her hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Rachel, oh my god, did you…did you really put that crap into your body?!" Cuddy asked. Rachel shook her head.

"No, I didn't use any kinds of drugs. I swear!"

"Well, either she's lying or her blood's lying" House said as he handed Cuddy

a copy of the lab report, which she immediately began to read over.

"Oh my God! Levels these high could easily kill someone." She looked up at

Rachel. "How could you do something so senseless?"

"I'm telling you. I didn't do it!" Rachel pleaded.

"Rachel, please, you're not in trouble" Cameron told her. "But I need to know

where you got it, so we can see whether or not it was laced with anything."

"I didn't do it! I swear!" Tears were falling down Rachel's face at this point. "I

don't know how it showed up in my blood test, but I didn't take any kinds of drugs. Why won't you believe me?"

"Maybe she's telling the truth" Cameron said.

"Then how did it show up in her blood test?" Cuddy bitterly asked.

"Someone could have slipped it in a drink and given it to her that way."

"At 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon? These things usually happen on Friday

and Saturday nights."

"Usually" Cameron pointed out. "But _usually_ is different than _always_. It's the

only plausible explanation."

"Either that or she's lying" House added.

"I'm not lying!" Rachel protested.

"I believe you" Cameron said.

"Of course you do" House answered in a sarcastic tone.

"House!" Cameron sneered. "Now is not the time for your petty little comments!"

"Hey! At least my comments are…"

"Enough!" Cuddy shouted. "Whatever the reason, my daughter is still suffering

from an overdose and needs immediate medical attention. So, stop the bickering and get a move on!"

"Ok, I'm sorry, Lisa" Cameron said. "I'll get her started on the detox

regimen immediately." She left in order to get the necessary medication. Cuddy glared down at Rachel.

"You better be telling the truth" she sneered.


	14. Chapter 14

**SCENE 1:**

Cameron returned into the room a few minutes later. "I just had a thought" she announced. Cuddy, in turn, raised an eyebrow.

"Which is?"

"Did you tell Cuddy your _idea_ yet?" House asked Cameron, pushing past her. "You've got to hear this one, Cuddy! Its classic!" he added with a chuckle.

"House, can you go be annoying somewhere else?" Cameron sarcastically asked.

"Why Cameron I thought…"

"I've had about enough of you two and your constant bantering" Cuddy interjected. "Cameron, please tell me what your thought is. And I don't need any comments from the Peanut Gallery" Cuddy added, looking straight at House.

"Rachel, have you had any back pain or stomach pain lately?" Cameron asked walking over to Rachel's bedside. Rachel nodded.

"Yeah, my lower back has been killing me lately and I've had these sharp pains in my upper stomach, by my ribcage. I figured that it was just really bad PMS."

"Any blood when you use the bathroom?"

"Yeah" Rachel responded. "But isn't that _supposed _to happen when you get your period?" Cameron shook her head.

"Rachel, I think you may have a Kidney Infection that caused a false positive for Cocaine. It's uncommon, but this very thing has been known to happen. Plus, it would explain the fever and even the loss of consciousness to a degree." She turned towards Cuddy. "I'm going to need to take some blood so I can test for it." Cuddy nodded before looking over towards Rachel.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Cuddy asked Rachel. "I would've taken you to the Pediatrician before it got this bad!" Rachel sighed.

"Why does it even matter?" Rachel shouted with tears in her eyes. "The fact of the matter is that you thought I was lying. I said I didn't use the stuff and you still didn't believe me! So why should I think you would have believed me at the Pediatricians office if you didn't believe me here?" Cuddy got up and placed her hand on Rachel's arm.

"I'm sorry. It was wrong for me to jump to conclusions. But, in my defense, I didn't have all of the facts. You never told me about the symptoms you were experiencing. All I had were your blood test results showing that you were positive for Cocaine" Cuddy explained. "You can't blame me for thinking you used it!"

"So, it's my fault then!" Rachel retorted.

"I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to. You implied it!" Tears filled Rachel's eyes. "Let's just get this stupid blood test over with." Cameron walked over to Cuddy.

"I need you to sit down while I take the blood sample" Cameron told Cuddy who reluctantly complied. Cameron walked over to Rachel with a syringe in hand.

"You're just going to feel a slight pinch….There. It's in!...Almost done…I'm taking the needle out now…Ok! Just apply firm pressure here while I put the bandage on you…There! All done! You did great!" Cameron turned towards Cuddy. "I'm going to have the lab to put a rush on it and will tell you the results the second I find out. In the meantime, I'm going to have a nurse start her on broad-spectrum antibiotics." Cuddy nodded.

"Thank you" she muttered with a slight smile. Cameron nodded.

"Not a problem" she said, before turning around and leaving.

**SCENE 2:**

House waltzed into Wilson's office while Wilson was speaking with a patient. "Hey Wilson! Need your help with something!" Wilson looked up, obviously annoyed by the sudden intrusion.

"House, I'm in the middle of a consult here."

"How long do they have before they keel over?" The patient suddenly grew a look of panic.

"I...I'm gonna die?" they nervously asked Wilson.

"No, Mr. Watson. You're tumor is benign" Wilson told the worried patient. "But we will need to schedule you for surgery as soon as possible in order to..."

"Great! So they're fine!" House interjected. "I need to talk to you about something important." Wilson looked over at his patient.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" The patient seemed annoyed, but nodded anyway. "Thank you. I'll be right back." He got up waked out into the hallway with House. "What is so important that you felt the need to take me away from my patient?"

"Cuddy handed me a bunch of pamphlets of different places to hold our wedding. She also wants me to go with her this weekend to help pick out silverware. I mean come on, Wilson, can you think of anything more boring than that?"

"That is part of planning a wedding, House. And I don't see why you need my help with any of this!"

"I need you to help me get out of doing this whole wedding planning crap." Wilson threw his hands up in the air.

"Out of the question, House" Wilson adamantly stated. "If you have a problem with it than you go talk it over with your fiancée. Got it?" House shrugged. "Good. I'm going back in to see my patient now. Don't interrupt me again."

"Got it! If I overhear someone threatening your life, I won't interrupt you by informing you about it." House shot back.

"Very funny, House. I'm going in for real this time and I'm not coming back out until I'm finished" Wilson said before walking back into his office and shutting the door in House's face. House took out his cell and called Cuddy. She picked up after the 3rd ring.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Cuddles? How's the kid?"

"She's doing ok. Cameron was right. It ended up being a kidney infection, after all. She's going to be released in a couple of hours with some antibiotics. Cameron just wanted to give her an IV course first, but her fever has already come down a little."

"That's nice. Cuddy, why do I have to go and pick out silverware with you? Can't you have me do something more fun like hire the entertainment for the reception afterwards?"

"House, this is _our _wedding, not _my_ wedding. Therefore, I value your input."

"My input is 'whatever you want is fine'!"

"Great!" Cuddy exclaimed. "So I was thinking about getting married in a nice Chapel and…"

"Or we could just go to Vegas and get totally wasted."

"Not happening" Cuddy responded. House could imagine her rolling her eyes.

"I thought you said that you valued my input" House retorted.

"I do, but that doesn't mean I'm going to automatically do everything you say. If you give me a legitimate suggestion, I promise I will consider it."

"Great, but you pick out all of the silverware."

"Ok," Cuddy responded. "But you hire the band to play at our reception and get me the names of a few different Catering places."

"Deal" he said.

"Listen, I have to go. The nurse just came in. I'll talk to you later and I love you."

"Love you too" House whispered, hoping no one else had heard. The last thing House wanted to be known as was a lovey-dovey hopeless romantic.

"Bye now" Cuddy said, ending the call.

**SCENE 3:**

It was a month later and Cuddy was sitting at home browsing the internet for possible decorators for the upcoming wedding. They decided to have the wedding in early June. Against House's wishes, they were not going to go to Vegas and getting married. Nor were they doing Cuddy's lavish chapel wedding idea either. Instead, they ended up compromising by deciding to get married at the local court house and holding a big reception afterwards for family and friends.

"Hey, mom!" Rachel said, walking into the living room. "What are you doing?"

"Wedding planning stuff" Cuddy answered, without even looking up.

"Oh my God! This is so exciting!" Rachel squealed. "When are you picking out your dress?"

"Allison, Aunt Julia and I are all going out this Saturday to look at dresses. You're more than welcome to come with us if you want."

"I'd love to, but I have plans" Rachel responded.

"Oh?" Cuddy stopped what she was doing and looked up at Rachel. "And what are these plans?"

"Student Council is hosting a March for Dimes walk at school and, as their treasurer, I'm expected to be there to help out. Thanks for the invitation, though."

"No problem. Was there anything else you needed?" Rachel shook her head. "Ok, then" Cuddy said, turning her attention back to the screen.

**SCENE 4:**

It was the day of the wedding and Cuddy had butterflies in her stomach. For 52 years of her life she had never been a 'Mrs.' Anybody. Today that was all going to change. Cameron and Rachel were going to be the Brides' Maids and her sister, Julia, was going to be the Maid of Honor. House had unsurprisingly picked Wilson to be his best man. While examining herself in the mirror, Cameron walked into the room. "Lisa, it's time!" Cuddy took a deep breath, as she followed Cameron outside to where the car was waiting. She and House weren't going to see each other until they got to the courthouse in an attempt to keep some tradition in their marriage ceremony.

"Wow, Lisa! You look beautiful." Julia said. "I have to get the name of your hair stylist because those curls are to die for!" Cuddy laughed.

"Only you would say that on my wedding day, Julia. But thank you for the compliment!"

"Ok," Cameron announced. "I want a picture of the three of you together and one of just the bride by herself." Cuddy shook her head.

"Not too long with the pictures, ok? I don't want to be late."

"Relax, Lisa! Ok, everyone, get in front of that rosebush! Julia, you stand slightly behind and to the left of Lisa and Rachel you stand directly next to her to the right. There. That's it. " They all took their respective pictures, climbed into Cuddy's black BMW and headed over to the court house. When they got there, Cuddy got out just stood there for a moment. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for her entire life. Cuddy still couldn't fathom the fact that in a few moments, her life was going to drastically change forever.

"Lisa, hurry up!" Julia called out, breaking Cuddy free of her thoughts.

"Coming," she said as she quickly walked over to where the rest of the crowd was. They walked through the doors of the court house and Cuddy immediately spotted House talking with Wilson. She headed over with a smile on her face. "Hey" she said once she had gotten over there.

"Hey yourself" he responded. "I can't believe we're actually going through with this!"

"I know, right?" Cuddy responded. "Who would have thought?" Just then, a pair of doors opened.

"Are Lisa and Greg here?"

"Right here!" Cuddy announced.

"We're ready for you. Come on in." So they both walked in with the rest of the wedding party behind. Cuddy walked to the front of the courtroom first with Julia followed by both Cameron and Rachel. Finally, House and Wilson walked down. House stopped right in front of Cuddy. At that moment, the judge began to speak.

"Today we are here to unite two people as one under the common law of New Jersey in front of these witnesses. If anyone feels these two do not belong together, speak now or forever hold your peace." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Do you Gregory House take Lisa Cuddy as your lawfully wedded wife. To stick by her through sickness and in health? Through weakness and in strength? Through good times and bad? 'Till death do you promise that you will you never part?"

"I do!" House stated.

"And do you, Lisa Cuddy, take Gregory House as your lawfully wedded husband…" he repeated the vows to Cuddy.

"I do!" she said in an enthusiastic tone.

"You may now kiss the bride!" House lifted up Cuddy's veil and the two engaged in a passionate kiss. Everyone erupted into applause.

"This is so exciting!" Rachel said to Cameron.

"I know. I'm so happy for all of you. As much of a pain as House can be, he'll make a great father."

"You don't have to tell me that" Rachel responded.

"So what are you guys doing for your honeymoon?" Julia asked the pair after they had stopped kissing.

"We're going to Vegas" Cuddy said. "Greg wanted to get married there, but we both decided this was a fair compromise."

"When do you guys leave?" Julia asked.

"Tomorrow" Cuddy responded. She turned towards Cameron. "Also, thank you so much for watching her, Allison!"

"It's no problem. I know you'd do the same for me."

"I would" Cuddy said in full agreement. "Now let's get out of here! We have a wedding reception to attend." So they all left and went on to enjoy a day not to be forgotten.

**THE END**

**A/N:** I just want to thank all my readers for following me throughout both this story and "Secrets in the Dark". It's hard to believe that I ended up writing a sequel for what was originally intended to be a one-shot, but I had a lot of fun writing it and reading all of your comments. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and I promise that there will be more Huddy stories in the future!


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